US President Donald Trump says he will be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader, after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in American-Israeli airstrikes. Trump stresses that certain candidates, such as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, are not acceptable to him and that he wants someone who can pursue a different policy.
One of the frequently mentioned figures is indeed Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain ayatollah who was Iran’s highest leader. According to Iranian sources, he survived the airstrikes that killed his father.
The question of Iran’s leadership remains open. No new supreme leader has yet been appointed, and the power vacuum has fueled speculation about who may take over.
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But according to Iranian media, Mojtaba Khamenei is the Revolutionary Guard’s favorite candidate to assume the post of the country’s supreme leader. Mojtaba Khamenei has long played an influential role behind the scenes in the Iranian power structure and is close to the Revolutionary Guard.
At the same time, he is described as a clearly conservative figure within the religious establishment. He is not known as a reformist politician and is expected to continue the same line as his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Despite all the speculation, Iran’s leadership has not yet appointed a new supreme leader. Meanwhile, international discussions are ongoing about how the country’s political future might take shape, following the latest military operations by both the US and Israel, which, according to these countries, are expected to continue for at least another month.
“I have to be involved”
In a new interview with the news site Axios on Thursday, Donald Trump states that he believes the US must participate in deciding who will succeed Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The prospect of the son becoming the new leader is something the White House flatly rejects.
— Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who can create harmony and peace in Iran, Trump told Axios.
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The American president also emphasized that he should personally participate in the process of selecting Iran’s next leader, to ensure stability. Otherwise, he argues, the country risks being drawn into a new war within a few years.
— I must be involved in the appointment, just like with Delcy (Rodríguez, editor’s note) in Venezuela, Trump said.
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See Trump’s statements on Thursday regarding the ongoing war in Iran:
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