ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Monday extended his congratulations to Mojtaba Khamenei on his appointment as Iran’s new supreme leader, succeeding his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran late last month.
The move comes as armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’ have also welcomed the appointment, showing support to the younger Khamenei, as US President Donald Trump has criticized the decision, calling the naming of Mojtaba Khamenei “a big mistake.”
Sudani wrote in a statement on X, “I extend to His Eminence Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei my congratulations and blessings on the occasion of his election as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Iraqi premier also reiterated his condolences over “the martyrdom” of Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and “those with him from his family” - reportedly Mojtaba Khamenei’s mother, wife, sister, brother-in-law and others - expressing confidence in the incoming leader’s ability “to manage this sensitive stage and to proceed with strengthening the unity of the Iranian people in confronting the current challenges.”
Sudani also reaffirmed Iraq’s “solidarity” with Iran and “its support for all steps aimed at stopping the conflict and rejecting military operations against its sovereignty, in a way that preserves the stability of countries across the region and the security and safety of their brotherly peoples.”
Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (1939 - 2026), was on Sunday named as successor to his slain father.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Iran’s Assembly of Experts - the clerical body responsible for selecting the ultimate arbiter of the country’s political and religious structure - said he was appointed “by the decisive vote of its honorable representatives,” urging “the noble people of Iran” to “pledge allegiance to the new leadership and to preserve unity around the axis of Wilayat [guardianship].”
The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s third supreme leader came in direct defiance of US President Trump, who said on Friday that the selection of the elder Khamenei’s second son would be “unacceptable,” warning that he “is not going to last long” without Washington’s approval.
Trump on Monday reaffirmed his rejection, telling NBC News, “I think they [the Iranian side] made a big mistake” in selecting Mojtaba Khamenei.
Meanwhile, other voices in Iraq - particularly figures affiliated with Iraqi armed groups aligned with the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’ - were also quick to welcome Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment and pledge allegiance to the incoming leader.
Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq armed group, described the naming of Mojtaba Khamenei as “a continuation of the path of defending the causes of the Ummah [nation in Arabic] and supporting the oppressed.”
Meanwhile, Akram al-Kaabi, leader of the powerful Hezbollah al-Nujaba armed group, said in a statement addressed to Mojtaba Khamenei, that “the entirety of the ‘Axis [of Resistance]’ and its soldiers and leader will be [loyal] to you as they were to your martyred father.”
Similarly, Abu Ala al-Walai, leader of the Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada armed group, wrote in a statement on X, that the naming of Mojtaba Khamenei is indicative that “the path of Wilayat [al-Faqih] shall persist.”
Of note, Wilayat al‑Faqih - the Guardianship of the Jurist - is the foundational political‑religious principle of the Islamic Republic of Iran that holds that, in the absence of the Twelfth Shiite Imam, authority over the state should reside with the most qualified Islamic jurist. Under this doctrine, enshrined in Iran’s constitution, the supreme leader serves as both the highest political authority and guardian of the nation’s religious order; in this case, that role now belongs to Mojtaba Khamenei.
For his part, Jaafar al‑Husseini, spokesperson for the powerful Kata’ib Hezbollah Iraqi armed group, pledged in a statement on X, “We shall proceed on the same path that was led by our martyred leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei], for as long as there is day and night.”
Of note, the aforementioned factions are believed to be linked to shadowy factions, which have, since the start of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran in late February, been involved in attacks on alleged US targets in the Kurdistan Region.
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