Furious Trump issues chilling four-word verdict on new Iran supreme le | US | News
US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he is extremely unhappy with Iran’s choice of a new religious leader, with Israel threatening to assassinate Mojtaba Khamenei before he takes full control of the country.
Asked how he felt about Iran’s selection of Mojtaba, 56, as its new supreme leader, Trump told reporters simply: “I’m not happy.” He branded the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated last week, as “unacceptable” and a “lightweight”.
At a press conference held in the Oval Office last week with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump expressed fears that the new leader could be “as bad as the previous person,” saying: “I think the worst case would be if we did this and then someone took over the job of the person who was as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We don’t want that to happen. The worst would probably happen.”
“You go through that and five years later you realize you hired someone who wasn’t any better. So we want to see someone there who will bring that back to the people.”
Assassination threat from Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stern warning to Iran’s newly elected leader, threatening to kill him wherever he hides.
Katz wrote of
“It doesn’t matter what its name is or where it is hidden. The Prime Minister and I have instructed the Israeli Armed Forces to make every preparation and take action to fulfill 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 with someone else.”
Mojtaba’s history
According to Iran International, Mojtaba Khamenei’s selection was largely driven by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which reportedly pressured the Assembly of Experts to support him. Despite his close ties to the Revolutionary Guard and his service in Iran’s armed forces during the war with Israel, he does not hold the rank of a senior cleric and has never held an official government post.
The Revolutionary Guard confirmed the appointment, describing Mojtaba as “the most knowledgeable person on political and social issues” and declaring its “respect, loyalty and obedience” to the new leader.
Trump spoke confidently about the military campaign: “We beat them militarily by a lot of them. They’re still launching some missiles.”
“They won’t even be able to do that because we’re hitting all their aircraft carriers. We’re hitting their entire missile stockpile… and we’re hitting most of them.”
