- Mojtaba Khamenei has been named Supreme Leader following the death of his father in a U.S.-Israel drone strike.
- Reports suggest the IRGC forced the appointment through the Assembly of Experts despite the late leader's contrary will.
- President Trump has labeled the appointmen
Iran is undergoing a monumental power shift following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint drone strike launched by Israel and the US on Feb. 28. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has ultimately nominated Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, as his successor. However, questions remain: did Khamenei truly want his son to lead the nation?
The Will Of The Late Leader
"In Khamenei's will, he explicitly asked Mojtaba not to be named as successor," Khosro Isfahani, a journalist and Research Director of the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), stated in a report by the New York Post.
According to Isfahani, the late Iranian leader sought a successor with deep political experience and proven leadership-qualities Mojtaba lacked, making him unfit to govern. Isfahani added, "Mojtaba is an impotent young cleric who has achieved nothing in terms of political life... all these years, he has been nothing without his father's name."
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IRGC Pressure And The Assembly Of Experts
Mojtaba's appointment was reportedly forced by the IRGC. The IRGC allegedly pressured the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body tasked with selecting the next Supreme Leader, during their deliberations.
"The Assembly of Experts that was supposed to pick the replacement of Khamenei didn't vote for Mojtaba," Isfahani asserted. "There was a lot of pushback against him, but under pressure from the IRGC, he was named as the successor.”
Track live updates of Iran-US war
US President Donald Trump has made it clear that Iran's new Supreme Leader will not be able to "live in peace", and the labelled the succession "unacceptable".
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