Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader of Iran who had died in an Israeli bombardment last Saturday. Mojtaba has no high clerical post, but he has strong connections with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was sanctioned by the US as early as 2019.
The Assembly of Experts in Iran has now appointed him as the successor of his father - a move that was allegedly influenced by the influential pressures of the IRGC which compelled the assembly to act swiftly in filling the gap of succession to its leadership. The process was already predetermined by Israeli officials, and reports stated by Israeli outlet Ynetnews that Mojtaba was well-known to fill in the role of his father. His appointment can be considered because of several reasons.
Prior to his rise, Mojtaba did not have any official position under the Iranian government. His ascendancy is also against a deep seated custom of the Shiite Islamic clerical culture that has traditionally disapproved of the father to son succession.
The Assembly of Experts in Iran is a constitutional body tasked with the mandate of appointing, overseeing and in case of necessity, dismissing the Supreme Leader. The assembly is made up of members of the top clerics, most of whom are seniors; the assembly term is eight years, with its headquarters located in the sacred city of Qom. On Tuesday, joint US-Israeli military operations were reported to have hit the headquarters in anticipation.
Israel's Military Stance Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin had also confirmed on Tuesday that Israel had been targeting a building in Qom before the clerical deliberations of the succession. "We are not going to allow this regime to restore its command and control capacity," he said. According to the announcement of the assembly, senior Israeli officials said this was what they had anticipated.
US Military Casualties
Meanwhile, the U.S has published the names of four of the six American service members who were killed in the current conflict. Pentagon said that all four of them were killed in a drone attack in Kuwait:
- Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39
- Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20
Trump Goes Putin Way, Prepares For Protracted Campaign
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump pointed out that the US military operations against Iran might last weeks, reminiscent of the words Russian President Vladimir Putin had said when Moscow launched an attack on Ukraine more than four years ago.
Now, Trump has put forward a brave face saying he rejected an alleged Iranian move to re-establish diplomatic openings after the first weekend attacks. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the air defenses, air force, navy and leadership of Iran were destroyed and that Tehran was requesting negotiations, which he replied with, "Too Late!"
According to him the US was ready to continue its campaign way beyond the first four or five weeks. During his interview with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump also supported the issue of who could ultimately take over Iran after the military campaign is over, saying that a member of the existing regime would make it to that position but sadly, he said, "most of the people who had been in consideration were no longer alive. And we are not going to know anybody pretty soon," he said, before the election of Mojtaba Khamanei as the Supreme Leader after his father's demise.
