President Trump would support assassinating Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if he refuses to give in to US demands, according to a new report.
Those demands largely include the Middle Eastern country abandoning its nuclear weapons program, with sources telling the Wall Street Journal that Trump is ready to have the new supreme leader eliminated if he doesn’t cooperate.
Such an operation would likely be led by Israeli forces, much like the brutal strike that killed Mojtaba’s father – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – in Tehran on Feb. 28, current and former US officials told the Journal.
At least 49 other high-ranking Iranian officials were also killed in that strike, which has since plunged the country into a state of war with US and Israeli rockets continuing to fall.
Mojtaba’s mother, wife and son were also killed in the strike. He was injured in the blast, too, though it remains unclear how badly, according to Iranian media.
Reports circulated last week that Mojtaba was likely to succeed his father, with the announcement finally being made Sunday.
Trump previously told The Post he was “not happy” about the appointment – also telling Axios that Mojtaba was “unacceptable” and saying nobody would hold power in Iran without US approval.
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” the president said.
Mojtaba, 56, never held government office prior to his appointment, but spent his career working in the background of his father’s regime to further its oppressive conservative rule.
He was even referred to as “the power behind the robes” in leaked US diplomatic cables from the 2000s, around the time he was accused of rigging Iran’s presidential elections to secure the appointments of regime loyalists.
Mojtaba even managed the family’s business and financial interests, helping them amass considerable wealth while everyday Iranians toiled under their yoke.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Mojtaba will work with the US – but some have speculated that his appointment is intended to show the west that Iran’s goals have not been deterred by the attacks.
Also the deaths of his wife and son in the strike could be even more foreboding – as Mojtaba was treated for importance numerous times after he was married, and struggled to conceive and build that family, leaked cables showed.
