Iran has selected a new Supreme Leader after its predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike last week. State media has named his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader. Since Khamenei was killed in the US-Israeli operation, Mojtaba, 56, emerged as a favourite to succeed him.

He has strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which reportedly pressured the Assembly of Experts to select him, Iran International reported. Despite this connection to the military branch, he is not a high-ranking cleric and has never held an official role in the regime. He did, however, serve in the Iranian armed forces during the war with Israel.

The IRGC confirmed the selection, calling Mojtaba “the most knowledgeable in political and social affairs”. It said: “Dear and faithful nation of Islamic Iran.

“The election of the deputy of the Mahdi (may God hasten his appearance), the leader and Supreme Guide of the Islamic Revolution and the sacred Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts, following the martyrdom of the second wise leader of the Islamic Revolution, His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Imam Khamenei (may God have mercy on him), who for 37 years guided the revolution and the Islamic system with wisdom, wisdom, and power through the most critical historical junctures, and we thank Almighty God for the great blessing of leadership.

“We congratulate the election of the jurist who is fully qualified, a young thinker, and the most knowledgeable in political and social affairs, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, and we declare our respect, allegiance, and obedience to the leader chosen by the Assembly of Experts.

“This election is a new dawn and the beginning of a new phase in the Revolution and the Islamic Republic, which marks the painful sunset of the leader.”

The new leader may already have a target on his back, Israel previously suggested. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate any successor to Khamenei.

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Katz wrote on X: “Any leader selected by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan for Israel‘s destruction, threatening the United States, the free world and countries in the region, and suppressing the Iranian people – will be a certain target for assassination, no matter his name or where he hides.

“It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides. The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare and act by all means to carry out the mission as an integral part of the objectives of Operation “Lion’s Roar”.

“We will continue to act with full force, together with our American partners, to crush the regime’s capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow it and replace it.”

Donald Trump also expressed fears that the new leader of Iran would be just “as bad as the previous person” when asked about the “worst case scenario”.

He said: “I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We don’t want that to happen. It would probably be the worst.

“You go through this and then in five years, you realise you put somebody in who was no better. So we’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people…

“We have them very much beaten militarily, from the military standpoint. They’re still lobbing some missiles.

“They won’t even be able to do that because we’re hitting all of their carriers. We’re hitting all of their missile stock … and we’re knocking out a lot.”