Iran US Next Supreme Leader
FILE - Mojtaba, son of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, attends the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day rally in Tehran, Iran, on May 31, 2019.
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Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years before he was killed in the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment. It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. The supreme leader has the final say on all major decisions, including war, peace and the country’s disputed nuclear program.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, long has been considered a contender to the post of the country’s next paramount ruler — even before his father's death though he’s never being elected nor appointed to a government position. Khamenei, long a secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, hasn’t been seen publicly since Saturday. That's when an Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leader’s offices killed his 86-year-old father and sparked the current war raging across the Middle East. That attack also killed his wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the country’s theocracy.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor. He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war. He had never been elected or appointed to a government position. U.S. President Donald Trump had called the possible selection of the younger Khamenei unacceptable to succeed his father. There was no immediate White House comment after the announcement by Iran’s state TV shortly after midnight Monday. Two US officials say the State Department will order nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia as Iran escalates its retaliation for U.S.-Israel military operations.
