Iran's Supreme Leader Reportedly Very Ill, Still Debating Response to Israel
October 27, 2024
11:50 AM
Reading time: 3 minutes
The New York Times reported on Saturday that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is 85 years old, is very ill and his 55-year-old son Mojtaba Khamenei is preparing to take over as Supreme Leader when his father dies. However, this is not final, and several factions in the Iranian regime are reportedly weighing in on who should be the next Supreme Leader, as Mojtaba is not the first choice of some prominent regime figures.
The first choice of almost everyone, including Khamenei himself, was reported to be former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash last May.
This internal battle over succession comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Islamic Republic as their domestic enemies are pressing them on multiple fronts and their external enemies, including Israel, have delivered some heavy blows in recent days.
This includes the Israeli air strikes on strategic sites related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ballistic missile program early Saturday morning. Iranian officials are reported to be debating the best response to this strike, but there is unanimous agreement that a response must be made in order to avoid the appearance of weakness.
"The evil committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated," IRNA cited Khamenei as saying. "They should understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation."
He added, in a post on X Sunday, that "The Zionist regime made a wrong move two nights ago. We must make them understand the power, determination, and initiative of the Iranian people. Our officials should be the ones to assess and precisely apprehend what needs to be done (to show the power of Iranian people to enemy) and do whatever is in the best interests of this country and nation."
"Zionists are making a miscalculation with respect to Iran. They don't know Iran. They still haven't been able to correctly understand the power, initiative, and determination of the Iranian people. We need to make them understand these things."
Iran's Foreign Ministry, in a separate statement, said that “On the basis of its inherent right to legitimate defense, stipulated in the Article 51 of the UN Charter, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers itself to be rightful and duty bound to defend against the foreign acts of aggression.”