Iran’s top clerics have chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain supreme leader, as his father’s successor in a move that signals the Islamic republic is likely to maintain its hardline policies towards the US, Israel and the west.
The 56-year-old, who has close ties to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, was appointed just over a week after American and Israeli air strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the veteran supreme leader’s compound in Tehran, as they launched their war against the Islamic republic.
Some Iranian analysts had thought the regime would hold off announcing a new supreme leader until after the war ended, as Khamenei is now likely to be a prime candidate for US and Israeli strikes. But his appointment is likely to be viewed as an act of defiance against US President Donald Trump, who this week described Khamenei as a “lightweight”.