Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Israeli military has stated it will target successors to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued a threat to kill any individual who takes over as Iran’s supreme leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei and several other high-ranking Iranian officials were killed in the initial round of US-Israeli airstrikes carried out on February 28. After a week of discussions, the Assembly of Experts—a group of clerics responsible for vetting and selecting the new supreme leader—announced on Monday that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, had been selected to succeed him.
Hours prior to the Assembly’s announcement, the Israeli military released a warning to its members via a statement published on the IDF’s Farsi account.
“The State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every individual involved in his appointment,” the IDF said, adding that it “would not hesitate to target” the clerics attending the assembly’s meetings.
Last week, Israel carried out a strike on the Assembly’s headquarters in Qom, though the attack did not prevent the selection of a new leader. Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief security official, stated that Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment shows that the US and Israel were unsuccessful in using Ali Khamenei’s death to foment chaos in the country.
Both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have cited regime change as one of their objectives in the war.
Trump has called for unconditional surrender, asserting that the next supreme leader will not “last long” unless Iran complies with his demands. Iranian officials and the military have pledged to continue their resistance.