New Ayatollah is ‘as unhealthy as his father’, say terrified Iranians
Terrified Iranians have warned that having the slain Ayatollah’s son as their new leader will change nothing as he is ‘as bad as his father’.
Mojtaba Khamenei was elected as Iran‘s new Supreme Leader on Sunday following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a missile strike on the first day of the war.
Hardliner Mojtaba, 56, is one of the most influential figures in Iran’s clerical establishment and has for years been seen as one of the top candidates to succeed his father.
Israel vowed at the weekend to hunt down and kill whoever Iran’s Assembly of Experts decided to elect as its new leader.
It has emerged that Mojtaba was wounded in a bomb blast, but it is unclear whether it was the same one that killed his father.
On Sunday, a Foreign Office minister warned his appointment ‘suggests no change in direction from Iran’. The comment was mirrored by many Iranians in the country.
One, named Mohammed, said: ‘We are sick of the Mullahs controlling us and we really hope Israel and America kill him as well soon.
‘We are not happy about this new leader, he’s as bad as his father.’
Mojtaba Khamenei was elected as Iran’s new Supreme Leader on Sunday
During celebrations in Tehran, a woman holds up a poster of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba
Tehran has imposed a near-total communications blackout, making it extremely difficult to speak to residents inside Iran. Those who do risk arrest by the authorities.
Another resident, a barber, added: ‘People are working. They are going about their normal lives. And yes, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is still arresting people.’
Just hours after Mojtaba’s appointment, Iranian state TV called him a ‘jaanbaaz’ – a term for someone injured by enemy action.
The exact details of his injuries were not disclosed and he has not been seen in public since the war began for fear of a targeted killing by the US and Israel. A Tehran resident said: ‘People are terrified of the selection of Mojtaba and everyone is waiting for him to be removed as soon as possible.’
Another man told the BBC: ‘Even the thinnest of chances for a change are no more within the system. So everything will remain much the same – they don’t even need to change their chants to support the name.’
A third added: ‘He’s vengeful. They have killed his father and he won’t let go. If he can’t get revenge from the US, he will get his revenge from us ordinary people.’
Amid the criticism, thousands flocked to a square in Tehran to pledge their allegiance to Mojtaba.
Israeli Minister Amichai Chikli told the Daily Mail: ‘Whoever the Iranian regime appoints as supreme leader is a marked man.’
Iranians show their support for Mojtaba during celebrations in the capital on Sunday
US President Donald Trump has also dismissed the process used to elect the new leader. ‘He’s going to have to get approval from us,’ Trump told ABC News. ‘If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.’
Asked to respond to Mojtaba’s appointment, Foreign Office minister Baroness Chapman told the Lords: ‘Keeping people safe and defending national security is the Government’s first duty and we continually assess potential threats to the United Kingdom.
‘American planes operating out of British bases and British jets shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives is the ‘special relationship’ in action.
‘The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader suggests no change in direction from Iran.’
