A senior Iranian cleric involved in the vote to choose a new supreme leader indicated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba would be his successor, although a formal announcement was awaited, after Israel threatened whoever was chosen.
The comment by Ayatollah Hosseinali Eshkevari, a member of the Assembly of Experts, follows growing expectations Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardline cleric like his father, would be named as supreme leader, a position giving him the final say in all matters of state in the Islamic Republic.
If confirmed, the move could draw the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump who had said he should have a role in the choice of the next leader, a demand Iran has roundly rejected.
“The name of Khamenei will continue,” Eshkevari, one of the 88 members of the assembly, said in a video published in Iranian media, as Israel expanded strikes on Iran to include fuel depots and Bahrain blamed Iran for a strike on a desalination plant.
“The vote has been cast and will be announced soon.” Eshkevari said, without providing further details.
Israel continued to target senior Iranian figures, including Abolqasem Babaian, the recently appointed head of the military office of the supreme leader, saying he was killed in a Saturday strike.
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