The Israeli army says it will target the successors of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid the ongoing war in the Middle East
The Israeli army (IDF) has threatened to kill whoever replaces the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader of Iran.
Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials were killed in the first wave of US-Israeli airstrikes launched on February 28. After a week of deliberations, the Council of Experts, a body of clerics tasked with vetting and selecting a new supreme leader, announced Monday that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, had been chosen to succeed him.
In a statement posted on the IDF’s Farsi account a few hours before the Parliament announced its decision, the Israeli army issued a warning to its members.
“The hand of the State of Israel will continue to seek every successor and every person involved in its selection,” The IDF said, adding that “We will not hesitate to target” priests who attend congregational meetings.
Last week, Israel attacked the Parliament headquarters in Qom, but the attack failed to prevent the appointment of a new leader. Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, said the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei shows that the United States and Israel failed to use Ali Khamenei’s death to create unrest in the country.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both cited regime change as one of their war aims.
Trump has demanded unconditional surrender and said the next leader will not be able to “a long time” unless Iran agrees to its demands. Iranian officials and soldiers have vowed to continue their resistance.
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