TEHRAN: In a historic and rapid succession following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has nominated his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country’s new Supreme Leader, according to Iranian state media .
The clerical body, responsible for selecting the country’s top authority, has appealed to the nation to maintain unity and for the Iranian people to pledge their loyalty to the new leader. The Assembly emphasized that national unity and solidarity are essential in the current sensitive situation as the country navigates a period of heightened regional tensions .
The nomination of Mojtaba Khamenei, who has long been considered a powerful figure behind the scenes, comes just days after his father was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran . While reports suggest a consensus has been reached within the 88-member Assembly, the decision is not without controversy, as some critics view a father-to-son succession as contradicting the principles of the Islamic Republic, which was born from the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979 .
The development has drawn an immediate and sharp response from Washington. US President Donald Trump has warned that the new Iranian Supreme Leader must secure American approval. In an interview with ABC News, Trump stated that any new leader who does not get Washington’s endorsement is “not going to last long” .
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump said, framing his remarks in the context of preventing future conflict. “I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again, or worse, let them have a nuclear weapon”
