US media, citing two unnamed Iranian officials today, reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Leader Ali Khamenei, is the leading candidate for the nation's most powerful role. However, safety concerns for him are increasing.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on the morning of 28/2. On 3/3, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike on the Assembly of Experts building in Qom city, aiming to disrupt the process of selecting a new Supreme Leader.

The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member committee responsible for electing, overseeing, and potentially dismissing the Supreme Leader. Iranian media reported that the committee was not meeting in that building at the time of the attack.

Mojtaba Khamenei (wearing glasses) at an event in Tehran on 31/5. *Photo: AFP*

Israel Katz, Israel's Defense Minister, warned on 4/3 that anyone appointed by Iran to succeed Khamenei would be a "clear target for elimination".

"Iranian officials will try to delay the announcement of the new leader for as long as possible to avoid a pre-emptive strike against that person", said Sina Azodi, a senior expert on the Middle East at George Washington University. "But things have already started moving. The process has begun, consensus is forming, and Mojtaba Khamenei is clearly gaining support".

In a 5/3 interview, President Trump stated that Iran was "wasting time" choosing a new leader, demanding to be involved in the process. He also declared he would not accept Mojtaba as the new leader, criticizing Khamenei's second son as "mediocre".

Iran's Assembly of Experts meeting in Tehran on 14/9/2010. *Photo: Reuters*

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is a discreet hardline cleric with close ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij volunteer militia. He has never held a government position.

Iranian officials have also postponed the funeral for the late Leader Ali Khamenei, amid increased US-Israeli airstrikes across the country.

The funeral was previously scheduled to begin on the evening of 4/3. According to Tehran, the postponement aims to select a more appropriate time, given the large number of people registered to pay respects to the coffin at the Grand Mosalla Mosque, requiring necessary arrangements.

By Duc Trung (Based on Washington Post, CNN, AP)