By Enyichukwu Enemanna
US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that Iran’s next supreme leader would not last long in office if Washington does not give its endorsement, a development that comes as Tehran prepares to unveil the successor to the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Nine days after US-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Iran’s Assembly of Experts met privately and chose their next leader, members of the body said.
The clerics did not point who had been selected, only that a name would be announced soon.
Some suggested Khamenei’s 56-year old son Mojtaba Khamenei would succeed his father.
Trump had previously demanded Washington’s input in the the appointment and dismissed the younger Khamenei as an unacceptable “lightweight”.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday, referring to Iran’s next leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long.”
Tehran’s top diplomat had earlier insisted that the decision was Iran’s alone, adding it would “allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs”.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went on to tell Trump to “apologise to people of the region” for the spiralling war.
The younger Khamenei is regarded as a conservative figure, notably because of his ties to the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic’s military.
Israel’s military has warned any successor that “we will not hesitate to target you”.
