President Donald Trump said Sunday, March 8, 2026, that he doesn’t expect Iran’s modern supreme leader to last long without his approval, as the country prepares to announce the successor to the long-ruling Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The announcement comes after a period of heightened tensions following a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday, February 28, 2026, which led to Khamenei’s death.
“He’s going to have to get our approval,” Trump told ABC News.
“If he doesn’t get our approval, he’s not going to last very long,” the U.S. President added.
Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to be involved in the selection of Iran’s next leader, saying Saturday, February 28, 2026, that he doesn’t “want to be doing this every 10 years.” He had previously indicated his willingness to participate in the process, according to reports.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wants “to pick a president that doesn’t take his country into war.”
Trump likewise told CNN that he would be open to the possibility of a religious leader taking the helm in Iran.
“I mean, it depends on who the person is. I have nothing against religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic,” he said last week.
Successor to Khamenei
The body responsible for choosing Iran’s next supreme leader reached a decision Sunday morning, March 8, 2026, according to several hard-line members. The name of the selected candidate has not yet been revealed. This development follows the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for nearly four decades.
Ayatollah Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, a high-ranking cleric on the Assembly of Experts, was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying, “The elections for the leadership have been held and the leader has been appointed.”
He asserted that reports suggesting the Assembly of Experts had not yet made a decision were “pure lies.”
Al-Hoda stated that the decision would now be announced by the Assembly’s Secretariat, headed by Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri.
