Iran has selected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader amid the escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
Iranian state media said the powerful Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for choosing the country’s supreme leader, settled on Mojtaba as the next leader of the Islamic Republic. When confirmed, he becomes the third supreme leader in Iran’s history.
The reported appointment comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Iran’s next leader could struggle to remain in power without Washington’s approval.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump said in an interview with ABC News.
“If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.”
Trump added that his concern was to prevent future conflicts that could allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, saying he does not want future administrations to face the same confrontation again.
The leadership change follows the death of Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades before being killed during the ongoing conflict in the region.
The succession comes as fighting continues across the Middle East, with Iranian retaliatory attacks and Israeli strikes spreading across several countries, raising fears of a wider regional war.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military confirmed that another American service member has died in the conflict, bringing the number of U.S. personnel killed to seven.
Iran has also rejected calls for a ceasefire. Its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the country would continue fighting, describing the war as necessary for the protection of its people.
With the war entering its tenth day today, the growing tensions have already pushed oil prices above $100 per barrel and intensified global concern about a prolonged Middle East crisis.
