Iran has selected a new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following his death in a U.S.-Israeli strike, while rejecting demands from President Donald Trump to have any role in the leadership selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s Assembly of Experts \u2014 the powerful body of senior clerics responsible for choosing the country\u2019s supreme leader \u2014 announced Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader\u2019s 56-year-old son, will succeed his father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CNN\u2019s Jeremy Diamond, reporting<\/a> from Tel Aviv, said the decision came just over a week after the killing of Ali Khamenei during the opening phase of the conflict with Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is just in from Iran\u2019s Assembly of Experts,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cThis is the body of senior Iranian clerics responsible for electing the next supreme leader, and they have now chosen, just over a week after the assassination of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Diamond noted that Mojtaba Khamenei is widely seen as a hardline figure with close ties to Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe is known for having close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and his selection will largely be viewed as a continuation of his father\u2019s rule,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cThis is quite a hard-line stance for the Assembly of Experts to be choosing as the next supreme leader of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n According to the report, Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the same strike that killed his father. The attack also killed his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His appointment comes amid escalating tensions with the United States and Israel, both of which have sharply criticized Iran\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Trump had previously dismissed the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei becoming supreme leader, calling him a \u201clightweight\u201d in an interview with Axios<\/a> and saying such a choice would be unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iranian officials, however, have firmly rejected any suggestion that Washington could influence the selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking Sunday on NBC News\u2019 Meet the Press<\/em>, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said<\/a> the choice of supreme leader is strictly an internal matter for Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked whether Iran would allow Trump any role in choosing the country\u2019s next leader, Araghchi responded bluntly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader. They have already elected the Assembly of Experts, and the Assembly of Experts will do the job. It is only the business of the Iranian people and nobody else\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Araghchi also pushed back on Trump\u2019s earlier demand for Iran\u2019s \u201cunconditional surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is what he asked the previous time in June, when Israel started to attack us,\u201d Araghchi said. \u201cPresident Trump used the same phrase, \u2018unconditional surrender.\u2019 That was the tweet he made. And that didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe resisted, and after 12 days Israelis asked for an unconditional ceasefire,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo we never give up, we never surrender, and we will continue to resist as long as it takes. We are defending our territory, our people, and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Even as Iran moves forward with its new leadership, Israeli officials have issued stark warnings that the country\u2019s next leader will also become a target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Days before the leadership announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned<\/a> that anyone appointed to lead Iran\u2019s ruling regime could face assassination if they continue policies hostile to Israel and its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people will be an unequivocal target for elimination,\u201d Katz wrote in a post on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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