Iran’s top diplomat has firmly rejected any suggestion that the United States could influence the selection of the country’s next supreme leader, insisting the decision rests solely with the Iranian people and their institutions.
Speaking on Sunday, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, also demanded that U.S. President Donald Trump apologize for the conflict that erupted after recent U.S.–Israeli military actions against Iran.
“We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader,” Araghchi said during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.
His comments came after Trump renewed his claim that Washington should play a role in approving Iran’s next supreme leader following the death of Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial phase of the U.S.-Israeli offensive launched nine days ago.
Trump reiterated his position during an interview with ABC News, saying the next leader in Tehran would need American backing to remain in power.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long.”
Iranian authorities have not yet publicly named Khamenei’s successor. However, state media reported that the powerful clerical body responsible for choosing the country’s supreme leader—the Assembly of Experts—has already held a vote and will soon reveal the selected candidate.
Some clerics have suggested that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, could emerge as the new leader, though Trump has previously dismissed that possibility.
“We have to wait for the Assembly of Experts to convene and vote for the new supreme leader, and the one who is elected by them,” Araghchi told NBC.
Trump also indicated that he would not rule out a successor linked to political forces that governed Iran before the Iranian Revolution, which transformed the country into an Islamic republic.
“There are numerous people that could qualify,” he said.
Beyond rejecting American involvement in Iran’s leadership transition, Araghchi accused the United States of fueling the regional conflict and called on Trump to issue an apology.
He said the U.S. president “should apologize to people of the region and the Iranian people for the killings and destruction they have done against us.”
Araghchi also defended Iranian military strikes carried out during the conflict, explaining that attacks targeting Gulf states were aimed at U.S. military facilities stationed there.
“It is Americans who started this war against us, attacking us, and we are defending ourselves. So it is obvious that our missiles cannot reach the US soil,” Araghchi said.
“What we can do is to attack American bases and American installations around us, which are unfortunately in the soil of our, you know, neighbor countries.”
Trump has argued that Iran’s missile capabilities could soon extend far enough to threaten the United States. However, a U.S. intelligence assessment as recently as 2025 indicated that Tehran had not yet developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, suggesting it could take until around 2035 for the country to possess such long-range weapons.
