Israel named any new Iranian leader a target for destruction after Khamenei's death
Kyiv • UNN
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that any leader appointed by the Iranian clergy would be a target for destruction. This came amid discussions about the election of a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during American-Israeli strikes.
Any new leader appointed by Iran's ruling clergy will be an "unequivocal target for destruction," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday, as senior Iranian officials gathered to elect a successor to the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, UNN reports.
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"Any leader appointed by the Iranian terrorist regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the United States, the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target for destruction. Regardless of his name or where he hides," Katz wrote on X.
Katz added that "the Prime Minister and I have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare and act by all means to fulfill the mission as an integral part of the goals of Operation 'Lion's Roar'." "We will continue to act with all our might together with our American partners to destroy the regime's capabilities and create conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow and replace it," Katz said.
According to CNN, the elected body of senior clergy gathered virtually to elect a new supreme leader after Khamenei was killed in the initial US-Israeli strikes on Saturday. Khamenei had not left an officially announced successor.
The New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials familiar with the discussions, that senior clerics responsible for choosing Iran's next supreme leader met on Tuesday for discussions, and "the son of the assassinated former leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged as a clear frontrunner."
Officials said the clerics were considering announcing that the son, Mojtaba Khamenei, would succeed his father as early as Wednesday morning, but some expressed reservations, fearing it could expose him as a target for the United States and Israel.
According to officials, the clerics, known as the Assembly of Experts, held two virtual meetings: one in the morning and one in the evening. Israel struck a building in Qom, one of the main centers of power in Shiite Islam, where the assembly was supposed to meet and elect a new supreme leader, but the building was empty, according to Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Vali Nasr, an expert on Iran and Shiite Islam at Johns Hopkins University, said Khamenei would be an unexpected choice — and potentially a telling one. "He was long thought to be a successor," Nasr said, "but over the last two years, that seems to have faded from view. If he is chosen, it suggests that a much harder line of the IRGC regime is now in power."
The Iranian opposition media Iran International has already reported that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as the new supreme leader of Iran. This information has not been officially confirmed.
Iran elects new Supreme Leader03.03.26, 23:33 • 27905 views
As CNN notes, both Israel and the US have argued that their strikes would create conditions for the Iranian people to establish a democratic government and restore peace in the region. At the same time, US President Trump proposed a similar option for Venezuela, where American troops seized the president but left much of the administration in place.