Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has publicly warned that any successor chosen to replace Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, would be considered a target if they continue what he described as Tehran’s campaign against Israel and its allies.
In a statement posted on X, Katz declared that any incoming Iranian leader who pursues policies aimed at Israel’s destruction or threatens the United States and regional states “will be a certain target for assassination,” regardless of identity or location.
The warning comes as Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the late supreme leader, is being widely reported as the favourite to assume the powerful role. Mojtaba, who has longstanding ties to the influential Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is said to wield significant behind-the-scenes influence despite not holding a formal government position or senior clerical rank.
Reports indicate that Iran’s 88-member Assembly of Experts convened in the holy city of Qom to deliberate on succession following Ali Khamenei’s death in joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Under Iran’s Islamic governance structure, the Supreme Leader must be a senior religious authority with substantial political standing. While Mojtaba studied in religious seminaries in Qom and served in Iran’s armed forces during the Iran-Iraq war, critics within Iran’s clerical establishment have traditionally frowned upon hereditary-style succession, recalling the monarchy that preceded the 1979 revolution.
Nonetheless, with much of Iran’s senior leadership reportedly weakened in the current conflict, his close connections to the IRGC and Basij paramilitary force have strengthened his perceived viability.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he feared a new Iranian leader could prove “as bad as the previous person,” while maintaining that US and Israeli forces hold military dominance.
The conflict has intensified across the region, with missile and drone exchanges reported in multiple locations, including strikes linked to Iranian forces in Gulf states and renewed Israeli operations targeting sites in Tehran and beyond.
