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The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Iranian senior clerics issue fatwas over threats against Ayatollah Khamenei
Senior Shiite clerics in Iran have issued fatwas declaring that 'any individual or regime' threatening the Islamic republic's leadership and religious authority is guilty of 'moharebeh' − a term in Sharia that means waging war against God. The fatwas came in response to a formal religious inquiry following recent threats by US President Donald Trump and Israeli officials against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state media reported. Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday that he had saved the Iranian leader from assassination, and accused Mr Khamenei of ingratitude. 'I knew exactly where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces, by far the greatest and most powerful in the world, terminate his life,' Mr Trump posted. 'I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death, and he does not have to say, 'thank you President Trump'.' Mr Trump also said that he had been working on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran − one of Tehran's main demands − but had halted this. 'But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,' Mr Trump added. He urged Iran to return to the negotiating table. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel had wanted to assassinate Mr Khamenei during the 12-day war with Iran. 'If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,' Mr Katz told Channel 13 in an interview broadcast last Thursday. He said Israeli forces had searched for Mr Khamenei, but no chance to kill him presented itself. In a statement released on Sunday by his office, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of Iran's most senior Shiite clerics, urged Muslims around the world to take a firm stance against such threats, stating that those who endure hardship or loss in countering them will be deemed mujahid – a fighter in the path of God. 'Any person or regime that threatens or assaults the leadership and religious authority of the Islamic Ummah is considered a mohareb,' the statement read. 'Any form of co-operation or support for such entities by Muslims or Islamic governments is forbidden.' Another Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, said that any threat or assault on Mr Khamenei and the religious authority is 'considered an insult to the essence of Islam and carries the ruling of moharebeh'. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday condemned the 'disrespectful and unacceptable' comments from the US President. 'If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt supporters,' Mr Araghchi posted on X. The Iranian Foreign Minister also appeared to mock Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who at a summit of the western military alliance last week praised Mr Trump for the US intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict and referred to him as 'Daddy'. 'The great and powerful Iranian people, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had no choice but to run to 'Daddy' to avoid being flattened by our missiles, do not take kindly to threats and insults,' Mr Araghchi said. Mr Khamenei said on Thursday the US had 'achieved nothing' after it joined the war to support Israel, and that Tehran had delivered 'a heavy slap to the US's face'. In response, a day later, Mr Trump told Mr Khamenei: 'Look, you're a man of great faith. A man who's highly respected in his country. You have to tell the truth. You got beat to hell.'
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel thinks Netanyahu is victorious against Iran – what will he do next?
As the Israel-Iran ceasefire staggered into effect on Tuesday, all of the combatants launched a plausible argument for victory. In the United States, President Donald Trump claimed that both his diplomatic and military interventions had largely been responsible for halting the fighting, while the leaders of Iran and Israel each claimed to have secured a decisive win in a regional contest that dates back decades. In Israel, however, the emerging narrative is that the end result of the conflict with Iran has solidified the position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Just two weeks ago, Netanyahu was in real trouble. On the night before he ordered the unilateral strike on regional nemesis Iran, his governing coalition was only able to survive thanks to a last-minute deal with dissenting members. Public and political opinion had also appeared to have turned against his war on Gaza, and internationally, Israel's allies were beginning to protest the blockade of the Palestinian enclave. Now, he can argue that he has severely weakened Israel's most dangerous regional enemy, Iran, and he claims that its nuclear programme has been destroyed and sent 'down the drain'. Buoyed by rising poll numbers and the sense of having successfully confronted Iran, Netanyahu may, according to reports in Israel, seek to take advantage politically and call snap elections. Having built up the threat of Iran over three decades, and repeatedly warned that his country's principal bogeyman was about to build a nuclear weapon despite Tehran's denials, Netanyahu can now take advantage of being seen as the man who ended that threat. 'Entire generations have grown up in Israel with this fear of Iran,' Israeli political scientist Ori Goldberg said. 'There's a foundational narrative that there's this crazy state out there that, without any logic or reason, wants to destroy us.' 'My oldest daughter is 22 now, and has never known anything else,' Goldberg said. 'Netanyahu is now getting the credit for having confronted that.' In a video statement released earlier today, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich framed the conflict in characteristically apocalyptic terms, telling his social media followers, 'The State of Israel has defeated in the last twelve days the empire of evil that threatened the entire world and sought the destruction of Israel.' That argument is supported by much of the Israeli public – which has largely supported right-wing and far-right parties in recent years. 'Netanyahu is stronger than ever,' Mitchell Barak, an Israeli pollster and former political aide to several senior Israeli political figures, including Netanyahu, told Al Jazeera. 'No one's going to bring him down, no one's going to challenge him, not his opponents, not his detractors, nobody.' 'He showed that Israel can go it alone. He held off, before American help, then continued alone. Bennett, Lapid can't challenge that,' Barak continued, referring to two former Israeli prime ministers, the right-wing Naftali Bennett and the centrist Yair Lapid, who are both opponents of Netanyahu. However, how long the Israeli prime minister's perceived victory will last is uncertain. The Iranian government and its Islamic Republic form of governance remain in place, even as Netanyahu has repeatedly called for its overthrow. Netanyahu insinuated that regime change was a possible result of the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Trump used the term in a social media post on Sunday, before clarifying on Monday that he was opposed to regime change because it could lead to 'chaos'. And despite Israeli claims, it is too early to have a definitive answer on the condition of Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes. The former, despite Israel's effective air defence systems, led to the deaths of at least 28 Israelis during the conflict, while Iran is likely to shroud its nuclear programme in secrecy going forward. Early intelligence assessments are reported to have determined that Iran's nuclear timeline has been delayed, but not destroyed. And analysts have previously suggested to Al Jazeera that Iran is likely to accelerate its nuclear programme, with hardliners within the Iranian regime now even more convinced of the need for a plausible deterrent against Israel. 'There are a lot of unanswered questions out there, such as how much uranium remains enriched, or even where it is, but, in the short term, it doesn't really matter whether it's been destroyed or not,' Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow with Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme, told Al Jazeera. 'Netanyahu and his allies in the White House will be able to spin it. What matters to them is that Iran has suffered a real physical and psychological blow.' However, how long Netanyahu may be able to survive on spin alone remains far from certain, Mekelberg added. 'Every Houdini eventually comes across a lock they can't pick,' he said. Netanyahu's actions since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023 have arguably made his country's position weaker in the long term. Israel's international isolation has increased, with revulsion worldwide at the Israeli military's actions in Gaza, where it has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians. Netanyahu himself is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, and South Africa has led a number of other countries in taking Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of carrying out genocide in Gaza. The images of those killed, including thousands of children, and the total destruction of Gaza, have spread on social media in particular, turning many in the West against Israel. This has become particularly noticeable in the US, where even on the right – traditionally a bastion of support for Israel – support for the country has become controversial. And while Trump has shown himself to be a pro-Israeli president, the perception among many in his 'America First' movement that Israel dragged the US into a war against Iran has led to anger and heavy criticism of Israel among many of Trump's most prominent supporters. Trump himself publicly reprimanded Israel after the latter planned to launch a large attack on Iran after the ceasefire began on Tuesday. Eventually, Israel conducted only a small and symbolic attack, following what it said was a ceasefire violation by Iran – one that Trump was clear did not warrant a response. Some indication of the fury that has greeted Netanyahu's decision to abuse the terms of Trump's ceasefire was provided by Trump's former chief strategist and ally Steve Bannon. Speaking on his War Room podcast on Tuesday, Bannon called Netanyahu a 'bald-faced liar' and Israel a 'protectorate'. Appearing to address Netanyahu directly, Bannon continued, 'You have the gall – particularly after what [Trump] did for you and the grief he's taken over here – you have the gall … When he said, 'This is what I've done, and I need you to be a partner, I need you to stand down first', you lied to him. That's why he's furious'. Gaza deal? While Israel can put the conflict with Iran behind it – for now – the war on Gaza continues, with no sign of Israel finding an alternative force to Hamas to rule the enclave, and no deal to secure the release of the Israeli captives still held in the Palestinian territory. That may put a wrench in any plans for Netanyahu to secure another term as prime minister in the short term. 'I'm not so sure about snap elections,' Aida Touma-Suleiman, a member of parliament representing the Hadash-Ta'al Party, said. 'The polls are in Netanyahu's favour, but it's still not certain. I can't see Netanyahu going to the polls with Gaza still going on,' she added, suggesting that the prime minister might wait for the summer parliamentary recess on July 26, when he would be freer to negotiate some kind of conclusion to the war on the enclave. Based on Netanyahu's attitude towards negotiations over the past 20 months, it is not clear that finding a deal to end the war on Gaza is something he wants. Instead, any deal is likely to require a significant push from Trump – if the US president wants to make one. 'I can't see how Netanyahu can reach any kind of settlement in Gaza,' Goldberg said. 'Everyone's waiting for Trump to act again … Negotiations with Hamas may start again, but it'll be Trump that imposes some kind of end to [the war].'
Japan Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Search for successor to Iran's Khamenei hastens as tensions erupt into conflict
The clock is ticking for senior clerics seeking a successor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A three-man committee from a top clerical body, appointed by Khamenei himself two years ago to identify his replacement, has accelerated its planning in recent days since Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate the veteran leader, five insiders with knowledge of the discussions have said. Khamenei, 86, is being regularly briefed on the talks, according to the Iranian sources who requested anonymity to discuss highly sensitive matters. He has gone into hiding with his family and is being guarded by the Vali-ye Amr special forces unit of the Revolutionary Guards, a top security official said. The ruling establishment will immediately seek to name a successor to Khamenei if he is killed, to signal stability and continuity, according to the sources, who acknowledged that predicting Iran's subsequent political trajectory was difficult. A new leader will still be chosen for his devotion to the revolutionary precepts of the Islamic Republic's late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, according to one insider, who is close to Khamenei's office and privy to succession discussions. At the same time, the top echelon of power is also considering which candidate might present a more moderate face to ward off foreign attacks and internal revolts, the person said. Two front-runners have emerged in the succession discussions, the five insiders said: Khamenei's 56-year-old son Mojtaba, long seen as a continuity choice, and a new contender, Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the father of the Islamic revolution. Khomeini, a close ally of the reformist faction that favors the easing of social and political restrictions, nonetheless commands respect among senior clerics and the Revolutionary Guards because of his lineage, the sources added. "I once again humbly express that this small and insignificant servant of the Iranian people stands ready to proudly be present on any front or scene you deem necessary," the 53-year-old said in a public message of support to the supreme leader on Saturday, hours before the U.S. bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. Protesters hold portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration against the U.S. and Israel in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday. | Bloomberg Khomeini has come into the frame as a serious candidate this month amid the conflict with Israel and America because he could represent a more conciliatory choice internationally and domestically than Mojtaba Khamenei, the five people said. By contrast, Khamenei hews closely to his father's hard-line policies, according to the insiders, who cautioned that nothing had been determined, candidates could change and the supreme leader would have the final say. However, with the military conflict continuing, it remains unclear whether any new leader could be chosen easily or installed securely or if he could assume the level of authority enjoyed by Khamenei, they added. Israeli strikes have also killed several of Iran's top Revolutionary Guards commanders, potentially complicating a handover of power as the elite military force has long played a central role in enforcing the supreme leader's rule. Khamenei's office and the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body from which the succession committee was drawn, were not available to comment. Khamenei an 'easy target' Planning for an eventual handover was already in the works because of Khamenei's age and the longstanding health concerns of a leader who has dominated all aspects of Iranian politics for decades, the sources said. The urgency of the task was underlined in September when Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a close ally of Khamenei's. The planning accelerated significantly this month following the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites, which were followed by the American attacks at the weekend. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," U.S. President Trump warned on social media last week, calling for Tehran's unconditional surrender. "He is an easy target." Khamenei hasn't publicly expressed any preference for his successor. The sources said he had repeatedly opposed the idea of his son taking over, in succession discussions in the past, concerned about any suggestion of Iran returning to the kind of hereditary rule that ended with the ousting of the shah in 1979. The role of Supreme Leader was created after the revolution and then enshrined in the constitution giving a top cleric ultimate authority in guiding the elected president and parliament. Officially, the leader is named by the Assembly of Experts, made up of 88 senior clerics who are chosen through a national election in which a hard-line watchdog body aligned with Khamenei must approve all the candidates. "Whether the Islamic Republic survives or not, it will be a very different one, because the context in which it has existed has fundamentally changed," said London-based Iranian political analyst Hossein Rassam, adding that Hassan Khomeini could fit the bill for a leader to take Iran in a new direction. "The regime has to opt for someone who'll facilitate slow transition." Hassan Khomeini's close links to the reformist faction of Iranian politics, which pursued an ultimately unsuccessful policy of opening Iran to the outside world in the 1990s, saw hard-line officials bar him from running as a member of senior clerical body the Assembly of Experts in 2016. The succession planners are aware that Khomeini is likely to be more palatable to the Iranian population than a hard-liner, the five insiders said. Last year he warned of a "crisis of rising popular dissatisfaction" among Iranians due to poverty and deprivation. People walk near a mural of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran on Monday. | WANA (West Asia News Agency) / via REUTERS By contrast, Mojtaba Khamenei's views echo those of his father on every major topic, from cracking down on opponents to taking a hard line with foreign foes, the sources said — qualities they saw as hazardous with Iran under attack. A mid-ranking cleric who teaches theology at a religious seminary in the city Qom, the center of Iranian religious life, Mojtaba has never held a formal position the Islamic Republic, though exercises influence behind the scenes as the gatekeeper to his father, according to Iran watchers. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mojtaba in 2019, saying he represented the Supreme Leader in "an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position" aside from working his father's office. Other candidates fall away Several of the candidates long seen as possible successors to Khamenei have already died. Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani passed away in 2017, former judiciary chief Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi died of natural causes in 2018 and former President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024. Sadegh Amoli Larijani, another senior cleric, has been sidelined. Others, such as the Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, are still in contention but have fallen behind Mojtaba Khamenei and Hassan Khomeini, the five sources said. Beyond the most likely candidates, it's also possible that a less prominent cleric could be chosen as a pawn of the Revolutionary Guards, said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group think tank. "It is possible that they would put forward a candidate that no one has ever heard of and would not really hold the same levers of power that Ayatollah Khamenei has held now for more than 30 years," he said. The supreme leader's voice is powerful. After the death of the Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei was publicly hailed as his predecessor's choice. Although he had already served as president, Khamenei was only a mid-ranking cleric and was initially dismissed by influential clerics as weak and an unlikely successor to his charismatic predecessor. However, he steadily tightened his grip to become Iran's unquestioned decision-maker, relying on the Revolutionary Guards as he outmaneuvered rivals and crushed bouts of popular unrest.
Al Jazeera
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
'Will Israel accept' Iran if it's not a nuclear threat?
Meron Rapoport says Netanyahu's Iran strikes distract from Gaza & asks if he would oppose Iran without a nuclear threat. Meron Rapoport, editor at Local Call, argues that Netanyahu's strikes on Iran serve mainly to distract from Israel's failing war in Gaza, and questions whether Netanyahu would still oppose the Iranian leadership if its nuclear threat were removed.
CNN
22-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
CNN correspondent shows what life looks like in Iran one day after US strike
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is on the streets of Tehran, Iran's capital city, a day after US President Donald Trump confirmed he approved US strikes on Iran. Hear from residents in the city who say the strikes strengthen their support for Iranian leadership.
