Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain Ali Khamenei, named Iran’s next Supreme Leader
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain Ali Khamenei, named Iran’s next Supreme Leader")
Mojtaba Khamenei Photograph: (AFP)
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain leader Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader. The Revolutionary Guards pledged loyalty, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against foreign interference as the US-Israel war with Iran intensifies.
Iran's Assembly of Experts on Sunday (Mar 8) announced Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader. In a lengthy statement, the assembly said that "after careful and extensive studies... in today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may Allah protect him) is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts." This comes even as US President Donald Trump, ahead of the announcement insisted that he should have a say in the new leader's appointment.
Slamming him for his demand, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the decision was Iran's alone, adding it would "allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs". Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press", Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went on to demand Trump "apologise to people of the region" for starting the war. Trump had dismissed the younger Khamenei as a "lightweight", and said, “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long…We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it,” he told ABC News before the announcement was made. Israel's military had previously warned any successor that “we will not hesitate to target you.”
Meanwhile, the IRGC pledged allegiance to the country's new supreme leader and issued a statement saying: "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps... is ready for complete obedience and self-sacrifice in carrying out the divine commands of the Guardian Jurist of the time, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei." The younger Khamenei is regarded as a conservative figure, notably because of his ties with the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic's military. Hailing Mojtaba, Iran's Security chief Ali Larijani said he has been nurtured in the Leadership Seminary and his presence will be a source of goodness and blessings. “With the teachings he has learned from his esteemed father, he can guide the country. Our wish is that during the leadership of Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran will be placed on the path of development,” Larijani's statement also rules out reports of rift within the top brass in Iran.
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Iran-Israel-US war
The war with Iran has reached day tenth with both sides relentlessly targeting each other. It all started when on Feb 28 Israel and the United States launched “pre-emptive” attack on Iran, and killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in subsequent airstrikes. Iran retaliated with drone attacks on Israel and on Gulf nations that host US bases. While US President Donald Trump has said that the operations in Iran will go on for “four weeks or so”, he has also boasted about US munitions that are enough for “forever” war, Israel has expanded its operations and has launched attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, while also continuing its strikes on Tehran. Iran has ruled out any negotiations with the US after criticising the attacks that came amid nuclear talks between two sides. The bombings in West Asia is continuing, with US issuing unprecedented advise to all its citizens to leave the region, including Israel. Iranian regime has vowed to avenge the death of Khamenei.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.
