Iran’s future will be determined by Iranians, not Trump, officials say 

Iranian officials have rejected Donald Trump’s push to be involved in the selection of the country’s next leader, insisting that only Iranians can decide the future of their country.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared to ridicule on Friday the US president’s assertion that he wants to have a say in appointing the successor of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“The fate of dear Iran, which is more precious than life, will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation, not by [Jeffrey] Epstein’s gang,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, referring to the late sex offender who had ties to rich and powerful figures in the US.

Earlier on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh noted that under the US federal system, Trump has no say over the mayoral elections in New York.

“Can you imagine this colonial approach – that he would like to see democracy at home, but he would like to topple down the democratically elected president of Iran?” Khatibzadeh said at the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi.

In recent days, the US president has repeatedly said that he would like the Venezuela scenario to play out in Iran – keeping the ruling structure in place, but replacing the leadership with one that is willing to fulfil Washington’s demands.

“I’m saying there has to be a leader that’s 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 – they’re all our partners,” he told CNN on Thursday.

A day earlier, he told Axios that he has “to be involved in the appointment” of the new supreme leader as he was in selecting Venezuela’s President Delcy Rodriguez after US forces abducted her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, in January.

Rodriguez previously served as Maduro’s vice president, but since rising to power, she has earned Trump’s praise after agreeing to allow the US to sell Venezuela’s oil and cutting off fuel exports to Cuba.

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.

“It’s just wishful thinking,” Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East Politics at George Washington University, said of Trump’s push to play a role in selecting the next supreme leader.

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.

“You 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,” Azodi said, referring to the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“But again, Delcy Rodriguez does not exist in Iran.”

The next supreme leader will be selected by an elected council of 88 members known as the Assembly of Experts.

Trump has specifically voiced opposition to the possible appointment of Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, calling him a “lightweight”.

Earlier on Friday, Trump said any deal with Iran must lead to the country’s “unconditional surrender”.

US and Israeli officials have been claiming that Iran is suffering heavy blows, with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth saying that Iranian leaders “can’t do anything” about the “death and destruction” Washington is unleashing on their country.

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.

“Trump still doesn’t 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,” Ghalibaf said on Friday.

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 “absorb punishment” because of its size and sense of identity and culture.

“Donald Trump can say a lot of things, but you have to keep in mind the power of nationalism – and that is nobody, no one in the world would like to see a foreign actor determining their future,” Azodi told Al Jazeera.