“We assume that he will continue the work of his father [бывшего верховного лидера Ирана Али Хаменеи]who was a very radical ideological cleric,” Petraeus said.
He also noted that he does not think that Mojtaba Khamenei currently has the status of ayatollah at all, unless he was promoted very recently. Petraeus says that's what happened to his father, who wasn't all that powerful when he was elected decades ago.
Petraeus said many were hoping for a leader who would be “more pragmatic” and might show a willingness to give in to U.S. demands, such as abandoning the country's nuclear and missile programs. But now it seems that this will not happen, unless Khamenei in power shows a different side of himself.
In general, there is little information about Mojtab Khamenei. He is believed to have conservative views. He is known for his close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's most powerful military body.
Context
On February 28, as part of the US-Israeli operation against Iran, Israeli fighter jets dropped dozens of bombs on Khamenei's residence and liquidated him together with a group of representatives of the country's leadership.
Edition “GORDON” told what the Ayatollah was like, ruling Iran for almost four decades. It also collected information on how The US and Israel managed to track down Khamenei.
The three-day farewell to Khamenei was supposed to begin on March 4 at the Imam Khomeini Mausoleum complex in Tehran, but he postponed. The reason given by the authorities was “numerous requests” from residents of different provinces to give them the opportunity to attend the funeral. A new date has not yet been announced.
In a telephone interview Axios, published on March 5, Trump said that wants to personally take part in choosing Iran's next leader. He admitted that the likely successor Khamenei – his son Mojtaba Khamenei, however, noted that he considers this option unacceptable.
In an interview with ABC News published on March 8, Trump said Iran's new supreme leader would not be able to hold on to power for long without US approval.
March 8 Iranian agency Fars News The IRGC-affiliated agency reported that an assembly of experts unanimously elected Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's supreme leader.
