Iran is expected to announce its new supreme leader as early as Wednesday. The nation’s top clerics met Tuesday to deliberate and multiple sources report slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is the frontrunner for the job.
According to a report from the New York Times, some of the clerics fear announcing Mojtaba Khamenei as the next leader could make him a target for the U.S. and Israel.
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz indirectly confirmed that in a post on social media Wednesday morning.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people—will be an unequivocal target for elimination,” Katz said.
He added, “It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides.”
Trump’s comments
When asked what he believes would be the worst-case scenario regarding Iran, President Donald Trump told reporters, “I guess the worst would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We don’t want that to happen. That would probably be the worst. You go through this, and then in five years, you realize you put somebody in who is no better. So we’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people.”
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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was the only other individual to govern Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
When asked who he’d like to see take over as Iran’s leader, Trump said he thinks “someone from within” the Iranian regime could be a good choice, but added that there are not many options right now.
“Well, most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said. “So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports. So I guess you have a third wave coming in. Pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.”
When asked if the U.S. would consider exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi as Iran’s next leader, Trump was noncommittal.
“I guess he is,” Trump said, “Some people like him.”
War intensifies
Iran’s search for a new leader comes as the war is intensifying, with new strikes across the country overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, and fresh attacks spreading across the region.
Turkey’s defense ministry announced Wednesday that NATO air defenses shot down an Iranian ballistic missile heading toward its airspace. It is unclear whether the missile was intended to strike Turkey. If it was, the intentional attack on a NATO member would mark a significant escalation in the conflict.
The U.S. and Israel are prepared to launch another air assault on Iran in the coming days, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who added that the U.S. has the military capabilities to sustain its offensive for as long as necessary.
Hegseth also said that in a matter of days, the U.S. and Israel will have “complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace.”
Israel said it targeted Iranian missile launchers and weapons factories, including a missile storage and production facility in the city of Isfahan. The Israeli military also reported what it calls “broad-scale strikes” across Tehran.
Explosions were also reported overnight in northwestern Iran.
Israel’s military also announced that one of its F-35 fighter jets shot down a manned Iranian warplane over Tehran. If confirmed, that would mark the first time such a shoot-down has occurred.
Israel is also widening the fight beyond Iran. The Israel Defense forces said it launched new strikes in Beirut, Lebanon, targeting infrastructure used by the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
The Israeli military ordered people living in dozens of villages near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon to evacuate and move “immediately” north of the Litani River on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to strike back.
Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said another attack targeted the Ras Tanura oil refinery. The refinery previously was targeted by an Iranian attack this week.
Kuwait’s military also said the country faced another wave of Iranian missiles and drones overnight.
US identifies slain service members
The United States has now identified four of the six American service members who were killed in the initial strikes on Iran over the weekend.
They are:
- Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
- Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa
They died Sunday in a drone attack on Port Shuaiba, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
All four had been assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa.
“We honor our fallen Heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation. Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten,” Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of the U.S. Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a news release.
The names of the two other service members who were killed are not being released until their next of kin have been notified.
