Iranians begin 3-day farewell ceremony for Khamenei; Israel warns his successor will be ‘target for elimination’

Iranians will say goodbye to their late leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a ceremony tonight in Tehran. The event will last three days. The time for the funeral march will be shared later when it is finalised. Ayatollah Khamenei was killed when joint United States and Israeli forces launched strikes across Iran including the compound of the supreme leader's home-office.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli media reported that Ayatollah Khamanei's son Mojtaba has been chosen as his successor. He will soon take over as the Supreme Leader.

Senior Israeli officials told Ynet news that the Assembly is expected to formally announce Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new leader in the coming hours, but Iran’s official state media has not independently confirmed this report.

However, the Iranian government via the Consulate General in Mumbai has rubbished reports that a successor has been chosen in Mojtaba Khamenei.

The Consulate General of the IR Iran in Mumbai said, “Reports circulating on media regarding potential candidates for leadership selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts have no official source and are officially denied.”

While Mojtaba was said to have had a major hand in running his late father's office, he also said to have maintained close ties with the top echelon of the IRGC and the Quds force.

Israeli Media described Mojtaba has having a more hard-line position than his father and being behind the violent crackdowns on protesters in Iran.

Responding to the development, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that any leader appointed by the Iranian regime to replace Ali Khamenei will be a "target for elimination," reported the Times of Israel.

He said, "Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the US and the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target for elimination. “It does not matter what his name is or where he hides.”

"We will continue to act with full force, together with our American partners, to dismantle the regime's capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow and replace it," Katz added.

The US Treasury further said that the then Supreme Leader had delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities to Mojataba Khamenei, who worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and also the Basij Resistance Force (Basij) to advance his father's destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.

Meanwhile, Israel's Health Ministry reported that in the past 24 hours, 219 injured people have been taken to hospitals as a result of the conflict with Iran, said Times of Israel. According to the Ministry, a total of 1,274 people have been evacuated to hospitals since the fighting began on Saturday. Of that number, 96 are still currently hospitalized, while the remainder have been treated and released.

(With inputs from ANI)