The hunt for Supreme Leader Khamenei has begun.
With Iran’s previous Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dead and Iran reeling from U.S. and Israeli strikes, the regime wasted little time naming a successor: Khamenei’s own son.
President Donald Trump has already made clear the choice is unacceptable.
Now, Israeli forces are actively hunting for the new Ayatollah. Wanted, Dead or Alive.
In an Axios interview last week, Trump was blunt that the choice was not going to work for the joint U.S.-Israeli military strike forces.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran.” Trump added, “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight.”
The new Supreme Leader is no stranger to international controversy. The U.S. sanctioned Mojtaba Khamenei in 2019 under Executive Order 13867, with the U.S. Treasury stating he had been “representing the supreme leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father.”
Experts say the window to knock out the new Ayatollah is closing fast.
Beni Sabti, a prominent expert on Iranian affairs, warned that Mojtaba is described as even more radical and uncompromising than his late father.
Sabti noted that the younger Khamenei has been a key architect of domestic suppression since 2005 and “doesn’t believe in the people.”.
Sabti said the new Ayatollah is the “weakest link” in the leadership chain right now, but that his vulnerability won’t last.
“The test is on us and the Americans: how much time do we give him?” Sabti warned. “In my opinion, it’s a matter of hours.”
Whether the new Ayatollah can hold the regime together — or whether Trump and Israel will give him the chance to try — could be the defining question of the conflict.