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The next supreme leader of Iran will be the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran\u2019s clerical body that appoints the country\u2019s supreme leader announced on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Assembly of Experts said the younger Khamenei had been chosen with a \u201cdecisive vote\u201d and urged Iranians to rally behind him, putting an emphasis on the \u201celites and intellectuals of the seminaries and universities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Prior to the announcement, President Donald Trump said that the next supreme leader is \u201cnot going to last long\u201d without U.S. approval.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to have to get approval from us,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf he doesn\u2019t get approval from us he\u2019s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don\u2019t have to go back every 10 years, when you don\u2019t have a president like me that\u2019s not going to do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The elder Khamenei was selected as supreme leader following the death of the Islamic Republic\u2019s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who overthrew Iran\u2019s dynastic shah during the 1979 revolution. With his son now assuming the position, the transition may raise questions about whether the Islamic Republic is drifting toward another form of dynastic rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mojtaba, a second son and mid-ranking cleric, was selected by the 88-member body following the death of his father, who ruled for 37 years until he was killed at the beginning of the conflict when the U.S. and Israel began to strike key targets on February 28.<\/span><\/p>\n Mojtaba, 56, has a reputation for being close to Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a United States-designated terror organization. He has never held elected office or served in a senior government role. He was suspected of playing a role in the harsh crackdown on the Iranian Green Movement protests in 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n He served in the IRGC following high school before studying and teaching at an Islamic school. Mojtaba played a central role behind the scenes to assist his father and managed his family\u2019s wealth and business affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n Mojtaba Khamenei was sanctioned by the United States in 2019, according to the <\/span>U.S. Department of the Treasury<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The Treasury said he was targeted for \u201crepresenting the Supreme Leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to the department, Iran\u2019s supreme leader had delegated some leadership responsibilities to Mojtaba Khamenei, who worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2013Quds Force and the Basij Resistance Force to advance his father\u2019s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.<\/span><\/p>\n Last week, Trump called Mojtaba a \u201clightweight.\u201d<\/span> According to a report from the <\/span>New York Post<\/span><\/a> citing leaked U.S. diplomatic cables released through WikiLeaks, Mojtaba reportedly sought medical treatment in the United Kingdom for <\/span>\u201cimpotency\u201d after failing to produce children quickly.<\/span> After multiple visits for treatment, including one stay lasting about two months, his wife was eventually able to conceive.<\/span><\/p>\n His wife was also reportedly killed alongside his father in the Israeli strike.<\/span><\/p>\n Before the vote, the IDF warned on its Farsi-language account that Israel would pursue any successor to Iran\u2019s supreme leader.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe want to tell you that the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor,\u201d the IDF <\/span>posted<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/span>\u201cThey are wasting their time. Khamenei\u2019s son is a lightweight,\u201d Trump told Axios. \u201cKhamenei\u2019s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n