Name: Iran foreign minister reacts to Trump saying he'll pick the next leader of Iran: Full interview
Uploaded: 2026-03-08T23:02:04.000Z
Duration: 13 min 3 s
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And joining me now is the Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Arachi.

Mr. Foreign Minister, welcome to Meet the Press.

I have to ask you the big question on everyone's mind.

Well, it is already known the interim leadership council is now in charge and they are doing their act in the absence of the leader, while a new supreme leader is going to be elected soon by the assembly of Experts.

And the president and the cabinet are also in there, are doing their duties.

Well, there are reports this morning that the Iranian assembly of Experts has come to a decision on a new supreme leader for Iran.

Many have suggested it would be the son of the late Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

But, you know, 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.

Do you think he should be the next leader of Iran?

Well, anybody which is elected by the assembly of Experts would be the next supreme leader of Iran.

And as you know, the assembly of the members of the assembly are already, you know, elected by, directly by the people.

All right, well, President Trump says he should pick the new leader of Iran.

Will Iran allow President Trump to have any role in picking its new leader?

We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs.

This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader.

They have already elected the assembly of Experts and the assembly of Experts would do the job.

It is only the business of the Iranian people and nobody else business.

President Trump says there will be no deal with Iran except for, quote, unconditional surrender.

Will Iran agree to unconditional surrender for the sake of bringing this war to an end, Mr.

Well, this is what he asked previous time last year in June, that when Israel started to attack us.

We know President Trump used the same phrase, unconditional surrender.

And after 12 days, Israelis asked for unconditional ceasefire.

So we never gave up, we never surrounded, and we continue to resist as long as it takes.

We continue to defend ourselves and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity.

Well, let me ask you, because what conditions would Iran accept to bring this war to an end?

Well, actually, we are not at that point yet.

Obviously this time is different from the previous time.

you know, this time is quite different and the reason is obvious.

You know, last time they attacked us, they made aggression against us, they killed our people, they destroyed our places and then asked for a ceasefire.

And we accepted out of good faith because we were only exercising the act of self defense.

And when the aggression was stopped, we stopped too.

But you know, it didn't bring about peace.

And now this year they again started to attack us.

And again they have, you know, they are killing our people, they are killing, you know, girl students, you know, they are attacking hospitals, you know, freshwater desalinations, you know, refineries, you know, everywhere people have been killed, places have been destroyed.

And now they want to ask for a ceasefire again.

So there should be a permanent end of the war.

And unless we get to that, I think we need to, you know, continue fighting for, for the sake of our people and our security.

We are going to get to the reports about some of the deaths in just a moment.

But just to stay on this topic, would Iran ever agree to a cease fire to get back to the negotiating table to end all of this military conflict?

Well, they have to explain why they started this aggression before we come to the point to even consider a ceasefire.

Of course, nobody wants to continue this war.

This is imposed on us by the United States, by Israelis.

They have started this war unprovoked, unwarranted, illegally.

And what we are doing is an illegal, is legal act of self defense and we have every right to do that.

So it is not fair that if they, that if only it stops the aggression and ask us to stop too.

You know, as I said, this time is different.

Let me ask you about some of what Iran has been doing.

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles at sea.

On Saturday, the Iranian president apologized for those strikes on neighboring Gulf states.

Was it a mistake for Iran to attack its neighbors?

Well, it is a mistake if you consider that Iran is attacking its neighbors.

We are attacking American bases, American, you know, installations, American assets which are unfortunately located in the soils of our neighbors.

We are attacking Americans who are attacking us.

It is Americans who started this war against us, attacking us.

So our, it is obvious that our missiles cannot reach the US Soil.

What we can do is to attack American bases and American installations around us, which are unfortunately in the soils of our, you know, neighborly countries.

But Mr. Foreign Minister, if you're not attacking your neighbors, why did the Iranian president apologize?

Well, first of all, apology in our culture is a sign of dignity and strength.

Secondly, he apologized from the peoples of the region for the inconveniences they have faced because of this aggression by the United States and retaliation by us.

It is, in fact the president of the United States who should apologize from the peoples of the people of the region and Iranian people for the killings and destructions they have done again against us.

Let me ask you, because NBC News is reporting that Iran is receiving help from Russia to help locate U.S.

Well, we have a strategic partnership with Russia.

And, well, a military cooperation between Iran and Russia is not something new.

It has been in the past and is still there and will continue in the future.

Is Russia helping you locate U.S. forces?

Well, I don't have exact military information.

As far as I know, we have a very good partnership with Russia.