Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the latest in the conflict between Iran, the US, and Israel

US President Donald Trump has told a US news outlet he wants to be involved in picking Iran's next leader.  

He's told Axios that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son is a lightweight and unacceptable to him.  

Meanwhile, the death toll in Iran has risen to 1200, multiple Gulf countries are continuing to intercept missiles, and in Azerbaijan, an airport and a school were hit by Iranian drones. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Iran is firing fewer drones and missiles as the US and Israeli forces expand their control of the air and sea. 

He says the Pentagon says they’re finding and destroying Iran’s mobile missile launchers. 

LISTEN ABOVE  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard Morning, Good morning. Make update is where are we at?

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Trump is reaching out to some media outlets again day
six of the war. He's telling Axios that he must
be involved in picking Iran's next leader. He says reports
to come Aany's son wash Taba is likely replacement for father,
are quite unacceptable. They're wasting their time, says Trump, adding
the sun has a lightweight. Trump says he must be
involved in the employment, just as he was in Venezuela.

(00:25):
The son is fifty six. He is a hardline cleric.
He's never held any public office at all, but has
deep ties with the Revolutionary Guard. This Trump assertion. As
the war is spilling beyond the Middle East, Azerbaijan has
been struck by two drones fired from Iran, wounding two people,
damaging a local airport. Iran is firing though fewer drones
and missiles as US and Israeli forces expand their control

(00:48):
of the air and sea. Former Pentagon spokesman, retired Colonel
Steve Warrant says we are striking them, and we are
reducing the numbers that they have.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
That doesn't mean they're empty.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Though Pentagon says they are finding and destroying Iran's mobile
missile launchers, says Hegseth, the US Defense Secretary. We are accelerating,
not decelerted. Well. The US has destroyed in Iranian warship
one of twenty Iranian vessels. The US says it has
taken out, but again Pentagon, giving few details. Before the war,

(01:18):
around had three submarines, eight frigates so smaller than a destroyer,
two corvettes more maneuverable vessels in its fleet, while the
Revolutionary Guards had hundreds of smaller fast vessels. The frigate
Dina was the one that was sunk with the US torpedo,
first time since World War II that the US Navy's
sub has struck a vessel with a torpedo in combat,

(01:40):
and Israeli jet also got into an aerial dogfight with
an Iranian plane, first such encounter in years as well. Meantime,
on the political front, Europe has been drawn a little
more closely into this after Trump slams Spain and said
the UK's Keir Starmer was no Winston Churchill. The UK
is sending some extra jets to Cutter, while France is
allowing the US to use a base for non combat purposes.

(02:02):
Iran still is without the internet, so we're hearing very
little from inside the country, but one anti government activist
was able to get out this report.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
It is very, very dangerous outside. Everybody from the regime
as the gun. Most of them are very ugly and furious,
and they have a free will to shoot everybody.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Hillish situation. The US State Department has started to arrange
flights for people stranded in the region, to be questions
why evacuations weren't part of the initial planning in all
of this, Trump aide Carolyn Levett asserts they did what
they could by issuing travel warnings.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
You can't be much more clearer than that, do not
travel to these following countries.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
However, nine of fourteen countries involved said they were not
designated at high risk. The names of the six US
troops killed so far have been released. They include twenty
year old Sergeant Deckland Cody, whose sister is saying.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
It still don't for me.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
I think it's real. Defense Secrety Hexcess slammed the coverage
being given here to the American war dead. I get
it the press only wants to make the president look bad,
but try for once to report the reality, you get it.
Not everything is about Trump.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
No is name toast.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
There are reports that Trump is sounding out his aids
about whether she should be whether she should lose her job.
This after a couple of days of absolutely blistering hearings
for the head of the ICE Immigration cracked on. Much
of the sharp criticism coming from Republicans got to say
it was bruising. No One was challenged about buying a
jet for her agency, a plane which has had a

(03:44):
luxury bedroom with a double bed and flatscreen TVs and
all the baraphernalia that Nome had used along with Cory Lewandowski,
her aid and alleged lover. It was said that this
plane was purchased for deportation of would be immigrants. Well, Nome,
we've certainly asked about.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
This, so, Secretary nom at any time during your tenure
as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had
sexual relations with Corey Lowandowski. Mister Sherman, I am shocked
that we're going down and peddling tabloid garbage.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
No further answer. She was also pressed repeatedly about the
ICE killings for No Good and Alex Pretty and whether
they were quite domestic terrorists, the term that Nome had
used right after the killings. She still refused to say
or to apologize. But the big issue for the White
House apparently is where the Gnome personally approved a three
hundred and seventy three million New Zealand dollar ad campaign

(04:43):
which prominently features Yeah, Christy Nome in all kinds of
military style getups. Trump is said to be angered by
this and by the spotlight being away from himself.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yoh, good weekend. Richard Donold back on Monday. Trade Court
bad news for Trump on tariff's federal judge US Court
of International Trade has ordered Customs and Border Protection to
issue refunds for levy. So if we you were charged
for under IPA, it's the emergency business. Judge Richard Eaton says,
you need your money back. How that's going to happen, literally,
no one knows. Meantime, Bergham's been in Venezuela and was

(05:17):
having a word with Rodriguez as in Delsy, saying things
are going well. The oil's moving. They've adjusted their laws
around investment on all sorts of things, including now the
oil sector, and so life in Venezuela seems to be
going nicely. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio