Ali Khamenei's Death Brings Khomeini's Grandson Into Focus
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Khamenei's killing has brought new urgency to the question of who will be Iran's next Supreme Leader.
March 1 (Reuters) - A grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is likely to figure prominently in the deliberations of the clerics who will determine who replaces Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader.
The killing of Khamenei, 86, in a U.S.-Israeli attack has brought new urgency to the question of who will be the next Supreme Leader, a long-simmering issue over which there had been no clarity despite his age.
Hassan Khomeini is the most visible of the late Ayatollah’s 15 grandchildren and is seen as a relative moderate within Iran’s clerical establishment. He enjoys close ties to reformists including former presidents Mohammed Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, who both pursued policies of engagement with the West when in office.
Khomeini, 53, holds a symbolically important role in public life as custodian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in southern Tehran. He has never served in government.
Some politicians inside Iran have seen him as a rival to hardliners who gained sway under Khamenei, notably his son, Mojtaba.
Rahman, who was Rep. Ilhan Omar’s guest, suspects her unprecedented punishment was related to her testifying to Congress about her brutal ICE detention in Minneapolis.
President Donald Trump told Axios it will take Iranians "several years to recover from this attack."
The administration’s latest escalation is boosting the global view of the U.S. as a rogue actor, fueling instability, acting illogically and illegally and risking innocent lives.