The opposition channel Iran International reported on Saturday that Tehran had secretly elected Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei's second son, as Iran's next supreme leader.
According to the report, Mojtaba may step into the Supreme Leader's shoes even before the death of his 85-year-old father, who reportedly suffers from a serious illness. According to the report, the 60 members of Iran's Assembly of Experts convened on September 26 in a highly unusual manner at Khamenei's demand, and were asked to decide on the issue of a successor immediately - without prior warning, and while maintaining the secrecy of the gathering.
Although there were objections to the very selection and procedure, in the end the council reached a unanimous agreement to make Mojtaba the successor - after the insistence of the leader and his representatives, which apparently included direct threats.
The council decided that the election would be kept in maximum secrecy due to fears of a wave of popular protests. Council members were instructed to maintain the secrecy of the incident, and were even threatened that anyone who leaked the meeting would be dealt with. Indeed, the report in question was kept secret for five weeks.
* Ynet contributed to this article.
