Breaking Update: Here’s a clear explanation of the latest developments related to Breaking News:‘Don’t make Mojtaba Supreme Leader’: What Ali Khamenei allegedly wrote in his will– What Just Happened and why it matters right now.
As Mojtaba Khamenei takes reins of Iran as its new Supreme Leader following his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination in Israel-US strikes on February 28, reports have indicated that Mojtaba was never the choice of his father to succeed the post, so much so that he was not named in his will. Track Iran US conflict updates
“In Khamenei’s will, he explicitly asked Mojtaba not to be named as successor,” Khosro Isfahani, a research director for the opposition group National Union for Democracy with ties to Iranian intelligence, was quoted as saying by New York Post.
Isfahani further said that Mojtaba has been ‘nothing without his father’s name’.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s IRGC ties and rise to power
Mojtaba, 56, was named as Iran’s Supreme Leader on March 8, over a week after his father’s killing who ruled the country with an iron fist for almost 37 years. Iran’s new Supreme Leader is reportedly strongly involved with the the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) which is one one of Iran’s most powerful military and economic organisation. The IRGC has pledged full obedience to the new leader who is yet to speak publicly since being elected.
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Iran’s new leader has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, though he has been a key figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader.
In fact, Mojtaba’s ascent to Iran’s most powerful post was backed by the IRGC that sees Mojtaba as a more pliant version of his father who would back their hardline policies, bludgeoning aside the concerns of pragmatists, senior Iranian sources were quoted as saying by the Reuters.
Was there opposition within the Iranian administration over Mojtaba’s name as Supreme Leader of Iran? Reuters reported that the announcement of him being chosen as the top leader was delayed by hours on account of opposition by senior political and clerical figures. Mojtaba’s selection, may add up to a ‘more aggressive stance abroad and sterner internal repression’, the report added, quoting anonymous sources in Iran.
Trump’s warning to Iran’s new Supreme Leader
Soon after being named as Iran’s new leader, US President Donald Trump issued a chilling warning saying that he will not be able to “live in peace”. Trump has voiced significant discontent following Iran’s election of Ali Khamenei’s second son as the new leader.
In a Fox News interview, Trump expressed that he is “not happy” with Iran’s selection of leader. “I don’t believe he can live in peace,” Trump remarked.
Trump also told Axios that Mojtaba taking over as Iran’s new leader of ran is “unacceptable” as he expressed a desire for a leader who would “bring harmony and peace to Iran”.
Trump remarked that appointing someone who would perpetuate Khamenei’s policies would inevitably lead the US back to war “in five years”.