Buried.News

Donald Trump said at a National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser that Iranians wanted him to be their next Supreme Leader, which he framed as a joke about how dangerous the job has become. The New Arab uses the remark to underscore a claimed U.S.-Israeli assassination campaign and to suggest uncertainty about Iran’s new leader’s status, while mixing confirmed facts with disputed or unclear claims. The story matters because joking rhetoric from a sitting U.S. president can launder extreme policy choices into punchlines and mislead audiences about what is verified in a fast-moving war.

Trump made the “Iran asked me to be Supreme Leader… No, thank you” remark at an NRCC fundraising dinner in Washington on March 25, 2026, per multiple reports summarizing the event. The remark was presented as a joke implying Iran’s top job is now unusually undesirable because Iranian leaders are being killed during the conflict. Iran’s state-linked announcement that Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father followed Ali Khamenei’s reported killing in U.S.-Israeli strikes; major outlets reported the succession on March 8, 2026. The article claims Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly since being chosen and says U.S./Israeli intelligence reports suggest he may be dead or seriously injured; this is asserted without showing sourcing or confirmation. The New Arab describes the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran as “unprovoked,” a characterization rather than a verified fact in the article text itself. Separate reporting the same day indicates Iran is exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz via inspection/vetting and/or a fee/toll regime, rather than a simple on/off ‘closure’ as often stated in war coverage. The article also describes shifting and contradictory statements about talks; contemporaneous reporting describes diplomacy as faltering and positions hardening rather than a clearly progressing negotiation track.