Israel has threatened to “eliminate” any leader who will be selected to succeed the assassinated Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, as reports emerged that Khamenei's son will be heading the country.
Khamenei, 86, was assassinated in the United States (US)-Israel joint strikes on February 28, the first day of this war. He served as the Supreme Leader of Iran for 36 years.
As the war expands and the two sides keep trading strikes, Iran has named Khamenei's eldest son, Mojtaba, as his successor, according to Iran International. Soon after his election as the Supreme Leader, Israel vowed that the new leader would be a “target for elimination”.
Defence Minister of Israel, Israel Katz, threatened on Wednesday that whoever Iran picks to be the country's new supreme leader will be a target for elimination.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people - will be a target for elimination,” Katz posted on X.
Also Read: Who Is Mojtaba Khamenei? Know All About Iran's New Supreme Leader
Iran is still in the process of bidding their leader the final goodbye as the threats from Israel are unleashed. A three-day state funeral will be held for Khamenei, AFP has reported, adding that he will be buried in his home city of Mashhad.
“Faithful will be able to pay a final homage to the body of the martyred guide of the nation, by visiting the Iman Khomenei grand mosque in Tehran,” AFP reported, citing the Iranian Irna news agency.
Who is the new leader?
Mojtaba, 55, was elected by Iran's clerical body. This is the first time since 1979 that power has been transferred within the same family in Iran, making his election truly consequential in many ways.
Iran International reported that his election to the top slot was strongly influenced by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), citing internal sources.
Mojtaba is believed to have served in the Habib Battalion, a unit of mostly volunteers, during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. The battalion operated under forces linked to the IRGC and took part in several major battles.
The alliances Mojtaba had formed during those years in service have proved to be instrumental in his election to the post of the Supreme Leader of Iran. Iran International reported that many men who fought alongside Mojtaba back then have risen to senior positions in Iran's security and intelligence apparatus.
For a while now, the newspaper reported, Khamenei has been quietly building influence inside Iran's ruling system, despite rarely appearing in public or holding a formal office.
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