Leaders rally behind new supreme leader
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said the appointment heralded a “new era of dignity and strength” for the nation. “This valuable choice is a manifestation of the will of the Islamic nation to consolidate national unity; a unity that, like a solid barrier, has made the Iranian nation resistant to the conspiracies of the enemies,” he said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also congratulated the new leader. “We pledge that, in defence of the rights of the great Iranian nation, the advancement of national interests and security, and the realisation of the lofty goals of the Islamic revolution, we shall not falter for a moment,” he wrote.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council — who has been tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy since the US and Israel launched their all-out offensive on 28 February — called for unity around the new supreme leader.
The head of Iran’s powerful Expediency Council, Sadiq Larijani, also joined the chorus of political leaders expressing support for the appointment, saying it reaffirmed the need to continue in the “luminous” path of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomed the choice, saying that following the new supreme leader was a “religious and national duty”, while a statement from the defence council said: “We will obey the commander-in-chief until the last drop of our blood.”
Mojtaba Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has long been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the IRGC.
In recent years, he had increasingly been touted as a potential replacement for his father, who had been in power since 1989. His selection could be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or enter negotiations in the short term as the war enters its second week.
“You wanted to get rid of our system? Well — this is a more radical person than his father, who was assassinated.”
— Rami Khouri, Distinguished Public Policy Fellow, American University of Beirut
Rami Khouri, a distinguished public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut, said the appointment signals “continuity”, adding that it remains to be seen whether the new supreme leader will push for negotiations to end the war. Either way, he said, the appointment was “an act of defiance”.
Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem, who has reported extensively on Iranian affairs, described Mojtaba Khamenei as his “father’s gatekeeper”. “He adopts the positions of his father with respect to the United States, with respect to Israel. So we are expecting a confrontational leader. We’re not expecting any moderation,” he said. Hashem added, however, that should the war end and the new supreme leader remain in power, there was “big potential to find new routes for Iran.”
Trump rejects appointment as US-Iran tensions deepen
The selection is certain to enrage US President Donald Trump, who had previously rejected Mojtaba as a candidate. The Times of Israel on Monday reported that Trump refused to comment on the Iranian appointment during an interview, only saying: “We’ll see what happens.”
The Israeli military has already threatened to kill any replacement for the elder Khamenei, while Trump said the war may only end once Iran’s military and leaders have been wiped out.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday, of any new supreme leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” Trump said.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, said the new supreme leader was “not the change we’re looking for”. “I believe it’s just a matter of time before he meets the same fate as that of his father,” the Republican lawmaker from South Carolina said on X.
By contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged “unwavering” support for Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment and China said it opposed any targeting of the new supreme leader.
The 88-member Assembly of Experts said on Sunday that it “did not hesitate for a minute” in choosing a new supreme leader, despite what it described as “the brutal aggression of the criminal America and the evil Zionist regime”.
Heidari Alekasir, a member of the Assembly of Experts — the clerical body tasked with choosing the supreme leader — said the candidate had been picked based on the late Khamenei’s advice that Iran’s top leader should “be hated by the enemy” instead of being praised by it, referring to Trump’s earlier statement that Mojtaba would be an “unacceptable” choice.
Iranian officials had rejected Trump’s push to be involved in the selection of the next leader, insisting that only Iranians can decide the future of their country.
On Friday, Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, appeared to ridicule the US president’s demands, writing on X that “the fate of dear Iran, which is more precious than life, will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation.”
