The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Monday pledged support for Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader of Iran following his selection the day before by the country’s Assembly of Experts to succeed his father, Iranian state media reported.
The IRGC called the selection of the second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei, “the new rise and start of a new phase in the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic,” according to official Mehr News Agency.
Khamenei was killed Feb. 28 by airstrikes on Tehran during the opening salvos of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
The IRGC said Monday in a statement that it is “fully ready to obey orders by Ayatollah Seyeed Mojtaba Khamenei and protect the sublime values of the Islamic Revolution.”
A branch of Iran’s armed forces, the IRGC acts as a “state within a state” with its own army, navy, air force and intelligence wing. It was formed to protect the Islamic republic’s theocratic regime from external and internal threats.
The IRGC’s Quds Force manages Iran’s overseas affiliates, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, by providing them with weapons, training and funding. The IRGC also controls up to 40% of Iran’s economy with major stakes in the country’s oil, construction and telecommunication industries.
In 2019, the U.S. government designated the IRGC as a terrorist group — the first time Washington applied the label to an official agency of a foreign government. The U.S. has targeted IRGC-controlled headquarters and missile sites during Operation Epic Fury.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old hardline cleric, was long seen as a possible successor to his father. The Israel Defense Forces warned that any leader appointed by Iran’s ruling regime would become a legitimate military target.
“It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X. “The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare and act by all means to carry out the mission as an integral part of the objectives of Operation Lion’s Roar.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday also announced support for Iran’s new supreme ruler.
“We pledge that, in defense of the rights of the great Iranian nation, the advancement of national interests and security, and the realization of the lofty goals of the Islamic Revolution, we shall not falter for a moment,” Mr. Araghchi posted on X.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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