"Carrying banners showing the face of the country's slain leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, people on Monday held a new portrait that of his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei. Other similar scenes on state media showed pledges of loyalty from several cities across the country, with people chanting, Death to America and Death to Israel, as security forces looked on."
"The images stood in stark contrast to those from nine days earlier, when Iranians were seen thronging the streets to celebrate the assassination in joint US-Israeli strike of Ali Khamenei. Many inside the country blame the late cleric for three decades of repression, including the killings of thousands of protesters in bloody state crackdowns on anti-government protests."
"Mojtaba, 56, has kept a low profile but has close ties to the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and has been accused of leading the IRGC's feared volunteer militia, the Basij. A discreet figure who rarely appeared in public, Mojtaba has yet to address the nation. He is well known for one thing, said Nima, as way more of a hardliner than his father was."
Following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike, his son Mojtaba Khamenei has been announced as Iran's new supreme leader. State media showed crowds in Tehran's Enghelab Square and cities nationwide pledging allegiance to the new leader while chanting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans. This contrasts sharply with celebrations that erupted nine days earlier when Iranians rejoiced at the death of the late cleric, whom many blamed for decades of repression and protest crackdowns. Despite official displays of loyalty, social media videos showed some Iranians chanting against Mojtaba before internet blackouts. The 56-year-old has maintained a low profile but holds significant influence through connections to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia. Observers characterize him as a more hardline figure than his predecessor, raising concerns about Iran's future direction.
#iran-leadership-succession #mojtaba-khamenei #political-instability #public-resistance #irgc-influence
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