The United States president had repeatedly warned against choosing the son of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to lead the country as tensions escalated during the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Donald Trump says he is “not happy” with the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader of Iran.
The United States president had repeatedly warned against choosing the son of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to lead the country as tensions escalated during the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
“I’m not going through this to end up with another Khamenei. I want to be involved in the selection,” Trump told Time Magazine in an interview.
Two days later, Iran’s powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, appointed the slain leader’s 56-year-old son to replace him.
The move was widely seen as a show of defiance toward the US president, who had suggested that Iran should select a leader willing to respond to Washington’s demands.
“I think they made a big mistake,” Trump said on Monday after Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment.
He also hinted that the new supreme leader could face the same fate as his father, saying, “I don’t know if it’s going to last.”
In an earlier interview with the New York Post, Trump declined to reveal his plans for dealing with Iran’s new leader.
“Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him,” he said.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump, said Mojtaba Khamenei was “not the change” the United States had hoped for, adding that he believed it was only a matter of time before the new Iranian leader met the same fate as his father.
Pro-Israel commentator Mark Levin, who had previously called for the killing of the elder Khamenei before the war, also shifted his rhetoric after Mojtaba was named his successor.
The United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Ali Khamenei and several senior officials in the initial attacks.
The strikes were followed by thousands of additional assaults that devastated parts of the country and killed more than 1,250 people.
Iran responded by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel and US military assets across the Middle East, escalating the conflict across the region.
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