US warns Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei: 'Your fate will be like your father's'
Washington (The Uttam Hindu): Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected Supreme Leader of Iran. US senators have strongly criticized Mojtaba's appointment as Supreme Leader. The senators stated that Mojtaba's election as Supreme Leader is not the change in Iran that they had hoped for.
Senator Lindsey Graham says Iran's choice of the slain Ali Khamenei's son as his successor isn't the change we're hoping for. "I believe it's only a matter of time before he meets the same fate as his father," the Republican senator from South Carolina wrote on the social media platform X. Graham has long advocated for an attack on Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that he even advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how to persuade Trump to take action.
US President Donald Trump declined to comment immediately when asked about Mojtaba Khamenei's election as Supreme Leader. However, in a brief telephone interview with The Times of Israel, he made a strong statement about halting attacks against Iran.
When asked by The Times of Israel when he would end the attacks against Iran, US President Trump said that he would work with Israel to decide when to end the war with Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be part of this decision, but the final decision will rest with Washington. Trump told Israeli media, "We are talking. I will make a decision at the right time, but everything will be taken into account." When asked later whether Israel could continue the war after the US decision to halt the attacks, Trump said, "I don't think there will be a need."
Former CIA Director David Petraeus said the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's Supreme Leader was unfortunate. He told US media, "We believe he will be like his father, who was a very hardline cleric. I don't think he's even an Ayatollah unless he's been promoted recently. Even his father wasn't that well-known when he was chosen several decades ago."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that any leader Iran chooses to "destroy Israel" will certainly be a target for assassination, no matter what his name is or where he is hiding. Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Speaker Amir Ohana echoed the same sentiment, saying that changing personalities does not change the nature of the government and Israel will "deal with the new leadership in the same manner." Following this statement issued by Israeli officials, one thing is clear: Mojtaba Khamenei will meet the same fate as his father.