<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>4 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iranian officials have rejected Donald Trump\u2019s push to be involved in the selection of the country\u2019s next leader, insisting that only Iranians can decide the future of their country.<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared to ridicule on Friday the US president\u2019s assertion that he wants to have a say in appointing the successor of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cThe fate of dear Iran, which is more precious than life, will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation, not by [Jeffrey] Epstein\u2019s gang,\u201d Ghalibaf wrote on X, referring to the late sex offender who had ties to rich and powerful figures in the US.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier on Friday, Iran\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh noted that under the US federal system, Trump has no say over the mayoral elections in New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you imagine this colonial approach \u2013 that he would like to see democracy at home, but he would like to topple down the democratically elected president of Iran?\u201d Khatibzadeh said at the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi.<\/p>\n<p>In recent days, the US president has repeatedly said that he would like the Venezuela scenario to play out in Iran \u2013 keeping the ruling structure in place, but replacing the leadership with one that is willing to fulfil Washington\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m saying there has to be a leader that\u2019s going be fair and just. Do a great job. Treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East \u2013 they\u2019re all our partners,\u201d he told CNN on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>A day earlier, he told Axios that he has \u201cto be involved in the appointment\u201d of the new supreme leader as he was in selecting Venezuela\u2019s President Delcy Rodriguez after US forces abducted her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, in January.<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez previously served as Maduro\u2019s vice president, but since rising to power, she has earned Trump\u2019s praise after agreeing to allow the US to sell Venezuela\u2019s oil and cutting off fuel exports to Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>But experts have cast doubt on whether Trump could find an Iranian Rodriguez within the ruling system that appears to remain standing despite the intense US-Israeli air campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just wishful thinking,\u201d Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East Politics at George Washington University, said of Trump\u2019s push to play a role in selecting the next supreme leader.<\/p>\n<p>Azodi told Al Jazeera that there may be varying views on relations with the US among the qualified candidates to replace Khamenei, but they are all loyal to the Islamic Republic system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could make the argument that the next supreme leader would bring a different approach because it will most likely be one of the second generation revolutionaries; Ali Khamenei was a first generation revolutionary,\u201d Azodi said, referring to the 1979 Islamic revolution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut again, Delcy Rodriguez does not exist in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next supreme leader will be selected by an elected council of 88 members known as the Assembly of Experts.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has specifically voiced opposition to the possible appointment of Khamenei\u2019s son Mojtaba, calling him a \u201clightweight\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier on Friday, Trump said any deal with Iran must lead to the country\u2019s \u201cunconditional surrender\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>US and Israeli officials have been claiming that Iran is suffering heavy blows, with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth saying that Iranian leaders \u201ccan\u2019t do anything\u201d about the \u201cdeath and destruction\u201d Washington is unleashing on their country.<\/p>\n<p>But officials in Tehran have projected defiance and confidence, saying their attacks on Israel across the Gulf will make the US regret launching the war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump still doesn\u2019t realise what calamity he has brought upon himself and the American soldiers by martyring our Imam [Khamenei], and he wants to dictate terms to a nation,\u201d Ghalibaf said on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Azodi said both sides are engaging in war propaganda. He added that while there is no doubt that the US and Israel have superior firepower, Iran has an ability to \u201cabsorb punishment\u201d because of its size and sense of identity and culture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump can say a lot of things, but you have to keep in mind the power of nationalism \u2013 and that is nobody, no one in the world would like to see a foreign actor determining their future,\u201d Azodi told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a04 mins info Iranian officials have rejected Donald Trump\u2019s push to be involved in the selection of the country\u2019s next leader, insisting that only Iranians can decide the future of their country. Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared to ridicule on Friday the US president\u2019s assertion that he wants to have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}