Dubai/Jerusalem, Mar 9: Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as Supreme Leader, signaling that hardliners remain firmly in control in Tehran just a week into its conflict with the United States and Israel.
Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with influence within Iran’s security forces and extensive business networks under his father, had been considered a frontrunner leading up to the vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics responsible for selecting the new leader after Ali Khamenei.
“By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the assembly said in a statement issued just after midnight Tehran time. The position grants Mojtaba the final authority on all state matters in the Islamic Republic.
Mojtaba’s appointment is likely to draw criticism from US President Donald Trump, who said on Sunday that Washington should have a say in the selection. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” Israel, ahead of the announcement, warned it would target whoever was chosen.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in one of the initial strikes launched against Iran more than a week ago.
The US military reported on Sunday that a seventh American had died from wounds sustained during Iran’s initial counter-attack, a day after Trump oversaw the return of the remains of the six others who died.
The US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador.
As Trump called for an “unconditional surrender,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, stated that Tehran was not seeking a ceasefire and would punish aggressors.
