Khamenei’s son Mojtaba has emerged as leading candidate for new supreme leader — NYT

The son of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the front-runner to succeed his father as the Islamic Republic’s next head, according to a New York Times report that says the senior clerics tasked with choosing the next supreme leader could announce their choice as early as Wednesday morning.

Quoting Iranian officials familiar with the deliberations, the newspaper says the clerics have some reservations about declaring Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader, fearing it could increase the likelihood he is targeted by the US and Israel.

The report adds that the clerics held two virtual meeting on the matter Tuesday, while noting an Iranian media report saying that a building in Qom was empty when the IDF announced hitting it in an airstrike targeting the Assembly of Experts, as the body tasked with selecting the supreme leader is formally known.

The New York Times report comes after the opposition outlet Iran International claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei was already chosen by the Assembly of Experts as his father’s successor, citing “informed sources.”