Trump has said he believes he should have had a role choosing Iran’s supreme leader and that the choice of Mojtaba Khamenei would be unacceptable. In response, the powerful religious body decided to hold deliberations and votes on the next supreme leader virtually. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei in 2019 , saying that his father “delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities” to him. “It’s going to take a while for [Mojtaba Khamenei] to exercise real power and to have his own power base,” Eyre said. Still, Eyre said, regardless of who was chosen, Iran’s next supreme leader was always poised to begin as “a hand puppet to a large extent of the IRGC,” he said.

Source: Washington Post March 09, 2026 21:58 UTC