Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged his “unwavering support” to Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday (local time), AFP reported.
Putin said: “At a time when Iran is facing armed aggression, your tenure in this high position will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication.”
The development comes days after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, targeting its military and naval forces, killing several top leaders, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to a Times of Israel report, Putin said he was confident that Khamenei would carry on his father’s work “with honor” and unite the Iranian people “in the face of severe trials.”
Putin is on the phone with the Iranian president
On March 7, Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke on the phone as tensions escalated in the Middle East, The Moscow Times reported. The Russian president expressed “deep condolences” over the killing of Khamenei, members of his family and other senior political and military figures, along with civilian casualties, which he blamed on the US and Israel.
The Kremlin said Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s stance on hostilities, adding that they must be stopped immediately and that disputes over Iran and the Middle East region should be resolved through diplomatic channels, not military force.
Putin also said that he remains in contact with the leaders of the countries that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council during the crisis.
China opposes attacks on Iran’s new supreme leader
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented on the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, saying that it was purely an internal matter. In addition, Beijing said it opposed any targeting of Iran’s new supreme leader after Israel’s military warned it was to target any successor to Ali Khamenei, AFP reported.
Iran has a new supreme leader
On Monday (local time), Tehran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader as the war in Iran entered its tenth day. The country’s clerical establishment, which has been under pressure for over a week, has named a little-known 56-year-old cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the country’s new supreme leader, according to an AP report. Ever since Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed, the Guard has continued to fire missiles and drones at Israel and the Arab Gulf states.
The appointment of Khamenei’s son is a fresh sign of defiance by Tehran’s embattled leadership after a week of heavy US-Israeli bombing, suggesting Iran is far from giving up on what it sees as a fight for the country’s existence. Reports suggest the younger Khamenei, who has been out of the public eye since the war began on February 28, was long considered a potential successor before his father was killed in Israeli strikes.
Iran defies Trump
Recently, US President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to choose a “great and acceptable leader” for Iran after the country’s “unconditional surrender”, suggesting he should appoint someone who could work with the US rather than against it. Trump also expressed his opinion on the possibility of appointing Khamenei’s son as the next supreme leader, saying that such an appointment was unacceptable to him.
