Iran has postponed naming a successor to its slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over security concerns following US and Israeli statements that the new leader may also be a target, according to Iranian officials.The two officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said Ayatollah Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as a leading candidate for the job, but concerns about his security have mounted after reports in the media that he may be the new face of Iran. Once Khamenei’s name began circulating as the preferred candidate to succeed his father, the United States said he would not be acceptable and could be excluded.
“They’re wasting their time,” President Trump told Axios on Thursday, adding that the son of the former supreme leader is a “lightweight” and “unacceptable” choice. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said in a social media post on Wednesday that any leader Iran appoints to succeed Khamenei will be “an unambiguous target for elimination.” US and Israeli strikes have so far killed Ayatollah Khamenei, senior military commanders and figures involved in defense – but not clerics.
The leaders of the three branches of the Iranian government – the presidency, the judiciary, and the parliament – are still alive.If Khamenei is appointed as the highest religious, political and military figure in Iran, this will indicate the continuation of ultra-conservative rule. Khamenei, a mysterious but influential figure operating in the shadows of power, has close ties to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard.
