{"id":16761,"date":"2026-03-05T19:15:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/trump-demands-say-on-irans-next-leader-as-mideast-war-spirals\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T19:15:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:15:24","slug":"trump-demands-say-on-irans-next-leader-as-mideast-war-spirals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/trump-demands-say-on-irans-next-leader-as-mideast-war-spirals\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump demands say on Iran&#8217;s next leader as Mideast war spirals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"storyParagraphFigure\" readability=\"35\">\n<p class=\"content\">US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that he have a say in picking Iran&rsquo;s next supreme leader, as the war triggered by the US-Israeli campaign that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reverberated throughout the Middle East and beyond.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"artImage leadImage\">\n<div class=\" \"><picture class=\"leadImageClass\"><source media=\"(min-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2025\/12\/30\/550x309\/US_News_1767090888271_1767090921295.png\" alt=\"Trump demands say on Iran's next leader as Mideast war spirals\"><\/source><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class>Trump demands say on Iran&rsquo;s next leader as Mideast war spirals<span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"content \">Earlier, Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for the entirety of Beirut&rsquo;s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah, sending residents fleeing in a panic from the district of hundreds of thousands of people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">That warning followed a fresh wave of Israeli attacks on Iran, which again lashed out at Gulf nations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The war has drawn in global powers, snarling shipping and rattling energy markets. It has been felt as far away as the Sri Lankan coast, where a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, and Azerbaijan, which threatened retaliation after a drone hit an airport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Trump on Thursday rejected the possibility of Khamenei&rsquo;s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, replacing his slain father as supreme leader, dismissing the younger man as a &ldquo;lightweight&rdquo;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ldquo;I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy,&rdquo; Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him under threat of violence after the United States ousted her boss, Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/12-weeks-jail-for-school-it-support-technician-who-took-upskirt-videos-of-teachers\/\" class=\"template-1\"><span class=\"cta\">News :<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">&lt;div&gt;12 weeks' jail for school IT support technician who took upskirt videos of teachers&lt;\/div&gt;<\/span><\/a><\/div><p class=\"content \">&ldquo;Khamenei&rsquo;s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,&rdquo; Trump was quoted saying, threatening more war in the future if a better alternative was not found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The remarks suggest a willingness to work with someone from within the Islamic republic rather than toppling the government entirely, despite Trump&rsquo;s repeated exhortations for Iranians to rise up and take back their country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ndash; Beirut warning &ndash;<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Lebanon was dragged into the widening conflict on Monday, when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the killing of Khamenei.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Israel responded with air strikes and sent ground troops into some Lebanese border villages. It told residents of a large area of south Lebanon to leave in anticipation of military operations there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">In a message on Thursday to the residents of Beirut&rsquo;s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, an Israeli military spokesman said: &ldquo;Save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/migrant-acquitted-in-first-trial-over-us-border-military-zones\/\" class=\"template-1\"><span class=\"cta\">News :<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones<\/span><\/a><\/div><p class=\"content \">Such warnings typically foreshadow large-scale attacks, and massive traffic jams formed on the outskirts of the suburbs, as people fired guns in the air, urging locals to leave as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">On a Beirut beach, hundreds of families, many of them scared and angry, milled around after fleeing in haste, having nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ldquo;We fled from the suburbs, we were humiliated,&rdquo; one man told AFP, refusing to give his name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll sleep on the road tonight and God alone knows what will happen to us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to intercede with Israel to prevent the bombing of south Beirut.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ldquo;At this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli Prime Minister not to expand the war to Lebanon,&rdquo; Macron said after the conversation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Earlier in the day, Israel said its forces had hit &ldquo;several command centres belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation&rdquo; in south Beirut.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Lebanese authorities say at least 102 people have been killed, 638 wounded and at least 90,000 displaced from their homes since Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ndash; From Sri Lanka to Azerbaijan &ndash;<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">On Iran&rsquo;s borders, neighbour Azerbaijan warned a drone attack on an airport &ldquo;will not go unanswered&rdquo;, raising fears of another country entering the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Iran denied being behind the strike and blamed Israel, but that did not stop Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev from accusing Tehran of &ldquo;terrorism&rdquo;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Australia deployed two military aircraft to the theatre while Canada&rsquo;s Prime Minister Mark Carney said he could not rule out his armed forces taking part.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The war has also dragged in NATO member Turkey after alliance air defences destroyed a missile launched from Iran heading towards Turkish airspace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">A Turkish official said the missile appeared to have been aimed at a British base in Cyprus, but Turkey nonetheless summoned the Iranian ambassador over the incident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Following fresh strikes on the Iranian capital, AFPTV images showed blackened vehicles and mangled buildings, with smoke still rising from some.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">A 30-year-old Tehran resident told AFP: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going through a very important page of our history and I&rsquo;m not afraid.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ldquo;Hope is the only thing that we have right now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">An Iranian state-run foundation said the death toll from US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic has risen to 1,230, a toll AFP could not independently verify.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The country is effectively cut off from the rest of the world, with the internet operating at around one percent of capacity, according to the Netblocks monitor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">AFP reporters in Jerusalem, meanwhile, heard explosions following warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">&ndash; &lsquo;We will not surrender&rsquo; &ndash;<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The conflict has not spared the rich Gulf monarchies, usually seen as a safe haven in a volatile region, as Iran has lashed out at cities and energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Thirteen people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in countries around the Gulf since the war began, including an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Qatar said Thursday it was intercepting an incoming missile attack as loud blasts, described by AFP journalists as the most intense yet, reverberated across Doha, where a thick column of black smoke billowed across the horizon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Falling debris from an intercepted drone also injured six people in Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, officials said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">In Bahrain, an Iranian missile strike sparked a blaze at the main state-owned oil refinery, which was later contained, the Gulf country&rsquo;s communications centre said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">And some Western diplomats in the Saudi capital Riyadh, meanwhile, said they were told on Thursday to shelter in place, while a witness said the diplomatic quarter in the city had been closed off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">burs-smw\/jsa<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \"><strong>This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><sub><\/sub><\/p>\n<div>Trump demands say on Iran&rsquo;s next leader as Mideast war spirals<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that he have a say in picking Iran&rsquo;s next supreme leader, as the war triggered by the US-Israeli campaign that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reverberated throughout the Middle East and beyond. Trump demands say on Iran&rsquo;s next leader as Mideast war spirals Earlier, Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/trump-demands-say-on-irans-next-leader-as-mideast-war-spirals\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Trump demands say on Iran&#8217;s next leader as Mideast war spirals&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}