Great-Grandson of Islamic Republic's Founder Was in Streets as Israel Fired on Tehran
The 28-year-old great-grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, was standing on a balcony in Tehran in the middle of the night on Tuesday as sounds of explosions from Israeli strikes and thuds of air defenses rocked the city.
Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini, a junior cleric, said in a telephone interview with The New York Times, that from his viewpoint Israel had waged a war on Iran, threatening the integrity of the country and the safety of its people. But for him, he said, the conflict was also deeply personal. The legacy of his family name, the revolution his great-grandfather had led, toppling thousands of years of monarchy in Iran in 1979, was at stake.
'I want to say is that we will remain in Tehran, we will not leave this land. Even if we have to sacrifice every ounce of our blood, like a soldier, we will fight,' said Mr. Khomeini. 'The enemy has made a massive mistake if it thinks it can dislodge this revolution.'
An even bigger mistake, Mr. Khomeini said, would be for President Trump to enter the war and attack the Fordo nuclear site. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump posted a series of messages on social media, one of which called for Iran's 'unconditional surrender.' He also met with his National Security Council as evidence mounted that the United States was considering joining Israel's bombing campaign to damage Iran's nuclear capabilities. A day earlier, Mr. Trump had warned residents of Tehran, a city of more than 10 million people, to evacuate in a social media post. Many residents of Tehran have tried to heed his call.
'Iran will respond in a different way if this happens,' Mr. Khomeini said, in reference to the United States becoming more involved in the conflict. The war would spread, and the region would descend further into chaos, he said.
Mr. Khomeini lives in the city of Qom, about 100 miles south of Tehran, where he attends Shia theological seminary. He is the grandson of Mr. Khomeini's son, Ahmad, and in the past few years has identified with the reformist faction of the government. He campaigned for the reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, who won the presidential election nearly a year ago.
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