Iran challenges Trump, announces Mojtaba Khamenei as new Supreme Leader

TEL AVIV: Iran has announced Mojtaba Khamenei (56) as the country’s new Supreme Leader, succeeding his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed earlier. The move signals that Iran intends to continue on a path of confrontation. Although the powerful clerical body Assembly of Experts selected Mojtaba on Sunday, the official announcement was made early Monday morning (Indian time).

Reacting to the development, Donald Trump said that the United States also had a role in the selection of Iran’s leader and that it would not accept Mojtaba’s appointment.

Meanwhile, Israel warned that it would target the successors of Khamenei. Analysts say Mojtaba’s rise to power is being viewed as a setback and humiliation for the United States.

Leader who lost his family

1. Mojtaba reportedly lost several close family members in a US-Israel attack on February 28 in Iran. Along with his father, his mother, wife, and one son were also killed in the attack. Two of his other children survived. Mojtaba is the second son of Ali Khamenei and is known as a Shia religious scholar and cleric.
2. Although he has not officially held senior government posts, Mojtaba had significant influence in Iran’s internal and security affairs as the Deputy Chief of Staff in his father’s office. He is believed to have strong ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has also led the Basij.

Attacks continue in the region
Iran’s retaliatory attacks against the United States and Israel in the Gulf region are continuing. A drone attack in Sitra, Bahrain, injured 32 people, while another attack in Abu Dhabi, UAE, injured two people.

Missiles targeting Doha in Qatar and the Shaybah Oil Field in Saudi Arabia were intercepted. In Tel Aviv, a missile strike east of the city killed one person. So far, more than 1,400 people have reportedly been killed in Iran during the ongoing conflict.