Jerusalem [Israel], March 4 : Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday warned that any leader appointed by the Iranian regime to replace Ali Khamenei will be a "target for elimination," reported the Times of Israel.
"Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the US and the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target for elimination. "It does not matter what his name is or where he hides," Katz said in a statement.
"We will continue to act with full force, together with our American partners, to dismantle the regime's capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow and replace it," Katz added.
Israeli Media had earlier reported that Ayatollah Khamenei's son Mojtaba has been chosen as the successor to his father and will take over as Supreme leader. Senior Israeli officials told Ynet news that the Assembly is expected to formally announce Mojtaba Khamenei as successor in the coming hours. However, no independent confirmation has come from official Iran state media on the development.
Mojtaba was said to have had a major hand in running his late father's office and maintains close ties with the top echelon of the IRGC and the Quds force, said the report. Israeli Media described Mojtaba has having a more hard-line position than his father and being behind the violent crackdowns on protesters in Iran. In November 2019, the US Treasury Department issued sanctions against Mojtaba. He was designated for representing the then Supreme Leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.
The US Treasury further said that the then Supreme Leader had delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities to Mojataba Khamenei, who worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and also the Basij Resistance Force (Basij) to advance his father's destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.
Meanwhile, the IDF said a new wave of strikes is underway against Hezbollah targets in Beirut. The IDF said further details will be provided later. Earlier, IDF issued evacuation warnings for two buildings in Beirut ahead of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure.
"You are located near facilities affiliated with Hezbollah," said the Israeli Army spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee, attaching maps of the buildings that are set to be targeted. Civilians in the area were instructed to distance themselves at least 300 meters from the buildings.
IDF also showed new footage of an airstrike against a group of Iranian soldiers operating an Air defence system, and the targeting of a Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter used by the Iranian army. A wave of Israeli airstrikes in Tehran on Tuesday had hit dozens of command centres of Iran's Basij paramilitary force and internal security forces.
In addition, as part of the strikes, the IDF says it struck sites belonging to the Iranian army's logistics division, missile launchers and air defence systems.
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