Iran still has not formally announced the identity of its new supreme leader. The new guy will be, according to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, 'an unequivocal target for elimination.' Israel's success in this department raises the possibility of certain efficiencies for Iran's cash-strapped government: serving, as in Hamlet, the remains of the new supreme leader's inaugural banquet as cold leftovers at the same man's funeral the next day. Most likely, the Assembly of Experts charged with appointing the supreme leader will delay the announcement in order to consider how best to protect the designee's life and prepare for smooth succession if it cannot. The choice the group makes will determine a great deal about Iran's future as a theocratic state. So far, the name that has been mentioned most often is that of Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation on Saturday after ruling Iran since 1989. Some have...
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