US President Donald Trump on Sunday (Mar 8) reportedly said that he is not happy with Iran's selection of new Supreme Leader. Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade said that the US President has told him "I am not happy." Iran has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader. At the same time, The Times of Israel reported that the US president refused to give detailed answer on the appointment but said: “We’ll see what happens.” Trump said the decision to end the war on Iran will be a “mutual” one that he will make with Netanyahu.
This comes even as US President Donald Trump, ahead of the announcement insisted that he should have a say in the new leader's appointment. Speaking to ABC News, Trump said,
“He’s going to have to get approval from us…If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.” He added, “I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again or worse let them have a nuclear weapon.” When asked if he would be willing to approve someone with ties to the old regime, Trump replied, “I would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would. There are numerous people that could qualify.”
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was named Iran's new supreme leader. In a lengthy statement, the assembly said that "after careful and extensive studies... in today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may Allah protect him) is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts."
On Day two of the war, Trump had hinted that he may be the one choosing the next leader of Iran, even as he said that Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is a “nice guy” but “someone from within Iran” should rule the country. Speaking to The New York Times, Trump said that he had "three very good choices" for who could lead Iran, but he did not name them. "I won’t be revealing them now. Let’s get the job done first," he added.
After the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, the Israeli military issued the warning in a social media post in Farsi on X, “We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you. This is a warning!” The Israel Defense Forces also wrote, “After the elimination of the tyrant Khamenei, the Iranian terrorist regime is attempting to regroup and choose a new Supreme Leader. I want to emphasize that the long arm of the State of Israel will continue to pursue the successor and anyone who tries to appoint him." The IDF also warned those taking part in the session in choosing the successor.
The war in West Asia has reached day tenth.It all started when on Feb 28 Israel and the United States launched “pre-emptive” attack on Iran, and killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in subsequent airstrikes. Iran retaliated with drone attacks on Israel and on Gulf nations that host US bases.
