*Wife Killed
*Reportedly Goes Into Hiding
Mojtaba Khamenei –the expected next Supreme Leader of Iran— was reportedly wounded in an Israeli air strike.
The son of Iran’s slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei survived an assassination attempt made by Israel during the devastating launch of Lion’s Roar military operation 28 February this year. which occurred in tandem with the US’s Operation Epic Fury, Times of Israel reported yesterday.
Other strikes in the joint military attack killed his father and roughly 40 other high-ranking Islamic Republic leaders.
Also killed was Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the country’s theocracy.
It’s not clear if Mojtaba, 56, was with his father in the Ayatollah’s heavily fortified compound that was decimated by airstrikes, or if he was targeted in a separate attack on the regime.
The details and extent of his injuries are also not clear.
He has likely gone into hiding as both the US and Israel continue to rain missiles on Iran.
Mojtaba is favored by Tehran’s influential Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to succeed his father, but some in the 88-member Assembly of Experts – tasked with choosing the next Supreme Leader – have reportedly raised issues over passing the torch to the longtime Ayatollah’s son.
The slain Supreme Leader’s son has been known for his staunch adherence to his father’s hardline conservatism and anti-Western sentiments that have been a hallmark of the Islamic Republic.
President Trump condemned Motjaba’s likely appointment as “unacceptable” for the US and vowed that it would not bring an end to the war.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight,” Trump said last week.
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”
The Assembly is expected to meet in the next 24 hours where they could possibly choose the next Supreme Leader, according to reports.
The election will take place virtually after the building used by the Assembly of Experts was destroyed in Israeli strikes earlier this week.
Tehran’s new leader will gain control of the IRGC, which has ruled the country with an iron fist for decades.
*PHOTO CAPTION: File photo of Mojtaba Khamenei (m) with some supporters.
