Iran has chosen a new supreme leader - it will be the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli operation, has been chosen as Iran's next supreme leader, Bloomberg reports citing a report by Iran's Fars news agency. The decision was made at the vote of the 88-member council of ayatollahs.

The Supreme Leader of Iran is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as well as the head of the judiciary, legislature and executive branch. Ali Khamenei had held this post since 1989. On February 28, he was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 56, and is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitary group, which are important elements of Iran's repressive apparatus, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal's Iranian sources and analysts noted that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely to take an even tougher political line after becoming supreme leader in his father's place.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 3 that he wants to see a man at the head of Iran who will put power back in the hands of the people. He called the worst-case scenario that "someone as bad as the previous" leader of the country would come to power.

"Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We need someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump told Axios on March 5. He also said he wants to be personally involved in choosing Iran's next leader - just as he did in Venezuela.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor