Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader after a vote by the Assembly of Experts, succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei. The decision comes amid an escalating US-Israel war with Iran, signalling that hardliners remain firmly in control in Tehran
Iran on Monday announced Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, a move indicating that hardliners continue to hold firm control, even as the week-old US-Israeli war with Iran drove oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Mojtaba, a cleric who wields influence within Iran’s security apparatus and oversees extensive business networks linked to his father, had already been considered a leading contender ahead of Sunday’s vote by the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical body responsible for selecting Ali Khamenei’s successor.
“By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts, appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Assembly said in a statement issued just after midnight Tehran time.
The role grants Mojtaba
the ultimate authority over all affairs of state within the Islamic Republic.
Mojtaba’s appointment is expected to provoke anger from United States President Donald Trump, who said on Sunday that Washington should have a role in the selection. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” he told ABC News.
Israel had also warned beforehand that it could target whoever was selected.
With inputs from agencies
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