'Sorry we have to attack your countries,' Iran tells Arab neighbors

US President Donald Trump told CNN he was open to having another religious leader in Iran.

“Well I may be yeah, I mean, it depends on who the person is. I don’t mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic,” he said.

He said “Iran is not the same country it was a week ago. A week ago they were powerful, and now they’ve been indeed neutered.”

Asked if he is insisting there needs to be a democratic state, Trump said, “No, 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.”

After Khamenei was killed in Tehran on February 28, confusion and divisions have emerged within the command structure of Iran’s military forces, the conscripts said.

In a military base in Lorestan province, several soldiers reported uncertainty over the chain of command and growing security concerns after the recent developments.

In a message, one soldier said many commanders left their posts to avoid potential US and Israeli strikes, leaving ordinary conscripts behind in the barracks without support.

According to the soldier, fear of bombardment has led some troops to spend nights outside the base, resting in nearby open areas despite the cold weather.

The soldier also criticized what he described as a lack of attention to the situation of ordinary troops and called for authorities to address their conditions.

US President Donald Trump said there will be no deal with Iran except “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” in a post on Truth Social on Friday.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote, adding that after that and the selection of a “GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s),” the United States and its allies would work to rebuild Iran.

“Iran will have a great future. MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),” he wrote.

Japan said a second Japanese national is being detained in Iran and demanded the early release of both individuals.

The Foreign Ministry said the second person was detained before the Feb. 28 military strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel and is safe and in good health. It gave no further details.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said officials were able to contact both detainees after the strikes and confirm their safety. “The government is doing everything to support them, their families and others involved,” he told a parliamentary panel, adding that he had pressed for their protection and early release in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador this week.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has identified the first detainee as Shinnosuke Kawashima, the Tehran bureau chief of Japanese public broadcaster NHK, and called for his immediate release.

Prince Reza Pahlavi condemned Iranian missile strikes on several Arab countries and called for the end of the Islamic Republic.

“The Islamic Republic has launched missiles at the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. It is targeting our Arab neighbors,” Pahlavi wrote on X. “These violations of their sovereignty are unacceptable and we condemn them.”

He said such actions reflected decades of regional intervention by Iran’s leadership and added: “This is who the Islamic Republic has always been. And this is why it must end.”

Pahlavi said Iranians had asked him to lead a transition after the current system is gone and that he had accepted that responsibility. He called on Arab governments to prepare to recognize and engage a future transitional government in Iran, saying relations would be based on “mutual respect and shared interests.”