Iran's appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as successor to his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reflects a dominant hardliner stance and serves as a "wake-up call" to U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, a Middle East analyst said on Sunday (March 8).

"Whatever is left of the Islamic Republic's leadership clearly is saying a big no to Donald J. Trump," Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, said. "They are instead opting for continuity inside the regime... (it’s a) reflection of the fact that the hardliners in that system now have the upper hand."

Vatanka added that this signals Tehran's unwillingness to yield to U.S. pressure campaigns.

Mojtaba Khamenei, long seen as a potential successor, has now assumed leadership despite his father’s opposition to hereditary succession and belief that it conflicted with the 1979 Revolution's principles, Vatanka said. "The hardliners have the upper hand. If they didn't, Mojtaba Khamenei's appointment would have been a question mark. Now it's become a certainty.”

Israel's potential response, including targeting Mojtaba Khamenei, remains fraught with political implications, added Vatanka. “And there will be a political cost associated with that, but that's something they have to decide.”

Commenting on Trump's earlier calls for Iran's "unconditional surrender," Vatanka said the question now is whether he can credibly claim the U.S. campaign has been a success.

"President Trump might frame this as a victory, but leaving a relatively young hardliner at the helm in Tehran provides little evidence of achieving regime change or lasting resolution," Vatanka concluded.

Posted by: AAngeles/NET25 News