Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, aged 85, is reportedly seriously ill, with his second oldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei, likely to succeed him when he dies, a Saturday New York Times report disclosed.
The report noted that Khamenei's serious medical condition created a "quiet battle" over his succession. It also stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps would have a say in who would become the Ayatollah's successor.
Concern grew over Khamenei's successor after former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash last May.
Khamenei has served as Supreme Leader since 1989, when Ruhollah Khomeini, the first to hold the title, died.
Report comes after Israel's response to Iran's ballistic missile attack
The Times report came shortly after Israel responded to Iran's ballistic missile attack at the beginning of the month by striking numerous military sites early Saturday morning. IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian and his cabinet in Tehran, last month. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
Iranian officials have said that they do not want escalation with Israel, the Times report added.
While attacking military targets in Iran, reports said that Israel had also attacked targets in Iraq and Syria.
Cuddlyaxe on October 27th, 2024 at 07:35 UTC »
This is a very, very big deal. Succession is the time when authoritarian regimes are the weakest, and Iran specifically has a very brittle type of authoritarianism due to their attempts at a hybrid model. They've taken all the worst aspects of democracy with a fundamentally autocratic system.
It is very likely that there will be a decent bit of turmoil and perhaps even a regime change.
As for Mojtaba, there is a lot of opposition to him gaining the role. The only way he's been able to stay in the running is by siding very, very hard with the IRGC. He will need to have made a lot of promises to them and will be to at least some level beholden to them, and the IRGC generally favors a much more hawkish foreign policy
mghicho on October 27th, 2024 at 02:23 UTC »
Every one points to some new york times report but not a single article has linked to the actual report
AravRAndG on October 27th, 2024 at 02:12 UTC »
Submission statement: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, aged 85, is reportedly seriously ill, with his second oldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei, likely to succeed him when he dies, a Saturday New York Times report disclosed.
The report noted that Khamenei's serious medical condition created a "quiet battle" over his succession. It also stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps would have a say in who would become the Ayatollah's successor.