Israel has issued a stark warning that any individual selected to lead Iran following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be considered a legitimate target.
On 4 March, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that any figure appointed by what he described as Iran’s “terror regime” to pursue policies aimed at confronting Israel, the United States and regional states would face elimination.
In a message posted on X, Katz said Israel would act against anyone continuing Tehran’s alleged agenda of hostility and repression.
The statement follows Israeli strikes on a building associated with Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body tasked with choosing the country’s supreme leader. The attack came a day after reports that 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday, an event that reportedly triggered the latest escalation.
According to sources cited by Iran International, the Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s 56-year-old son, as the next supreme leader under pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The New York Times also reported that senior clerics met to deliberate on succession and that Mojtaba emerged as the leading candidate, citing Iranian officials familiar with the discussions.
An official announcement is expected after Khamenei’s burial. Observers describe the move as an extraordinary wartime transition rather than a routine constitutional process, reflecting urgency amid ongoing conflict and internal uncertainty.
If confirmed, Mojtaba’s elevation would mark the first time since the 1979 revolution that power has passed within the same family, prompting criticism that the Islamic Republic is moving towards dynastic rule.
Long regarded as an influential behind-the-scenes operator within the Office of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba has rarely held formal office but is widely viewed as a key power broker in Tehran’s political system.
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