Any new leader appointed by Iran is a ‘target for elimination,’ warns Israel’s DM Katz amid reports that Khamenei’s son Mojtaba will succeed him
President Trump prefers leader who is on the ground and already popular over Iran's Pahlavi as new leader
Amid unconfirmed reports that the Iranian regime chose Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to succeed him, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that whoever is next to lead the regime would immediately be targeted for assassination.
“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,” warned Katz.
“It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides. The prime minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare and act by all means to carry out the mission as an integral part of the objectives of Operation ‘Roaring Lion,’” he added.
On Tuesday evening, several media outlets reported that Mojtaba Khamenei had been elected, though there was no official confirmation at the time of publication.
Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, an Iranian politician, cleric, and eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been elected the next Supreme Leader of Iran under pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Iran International. pic.twitter.com/QBvTEkJCx5
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 3, 2026
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force struck and destroyed the building of the Assembly of Experts, the council tasked with electing a new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in the holy city of Qom.
There was no confirmation whether the strike succeeded in killing some of the leaders, but an Israeli official told the news outlet Axios that Israel “wanted to prevent them from picking a new supreme leader.”
Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, told CNN in the evening, "We struck in an area of a meeting to appoint a new supreme leader, and there's a very good chance that the electors won't be readily available for any further meetings.
According to the Fars News agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the building was empty at the time of the strike.
Residents in Tehran chanted “Death to Mojtaba” from their homes shortly after Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was named Iran’s new Supreme Leader on Tuesday, according to videos circulating on social media. pic.twitter.com/GLee3MvYvE
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 3, 2026
The New York Times (NYT) cited three official Iranian sources saying that the assembly held two virtual meetings on Tuesday, eventually electing Khamenei, the younger.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is widely described as a behind-the-scenes power broker and close confidant of his father, with close ties to the IRGC, which pushed for his election, the three officials told the NYT.
Khamenei reportedly survived the strike that killed his father, mother, wife, and a son on Saturday.
The NYT also reported that other finalists for the top spot included Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who is part of the 3-person interim leadership council, as well as Seyed Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the regime’s founding father, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Q: Crown Prince Pahlavi -- is he an option?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026
TRUMP: Some people like him. We haven't been thinking too much about that. It would seem to me that somebody from within might be more appropriate. pic.twitter.com/qnuRiuOuXu
U.S. President Donald Trump also addressed the question of who would be next to lead Iran during a press conference on Tuesday.
Hinting at the strike on the Assembly of Experts’ building, he said, “There was another hit today on the new leadership, and it looks like that was pretty substantial.”
“So they’re getting hit very hard,” Trump said, also noting that many of those seen as potential future leaders had been killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.
“Pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody,” he said.
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person. Right, that could happen. We don’t want that to happen,” the U.S. president added.
Responding to a question about Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the most prominent Iranian opposition leader, Trump said, “Some people like him. We haven't been thinking too much about that. It would seem to me that somebody from within might be more appropriate.”
“He looks like a very nice person,” he said, adding that he preferred somebody who is on the ground, “currently popular,” and “more moderate” than the “radical lunatics” now in charge.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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