‘Iran’s new Supreme Leader alive’:Netanyahu says Mojtaba hiding in bunker, lacks father Khamenei’s grip on power, fears public revolt

Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mujtaba Khamenei, is alive but does not command the same authority as his father, Ali Khamenei. In an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Netanyahu said Mujtaba is believed to be hiding in a bunker or undisclosed location while attempting to consolidate power. Netanyahu said Iran is currently in its weakest phase since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. According to him, some factions want to prolong the conflict, while others fear economic collapse and growing public unrest. Netanyahu also said that the Iranian leadership fears its own people most, adding that protests against the regime have intensified following recent actions by Israel and the United States. Netanyahu said, ‘Iran’s economy, military power have been damaged’ Netanyahu said that in the recent action against Iran, several locations including petrochemical plants, steel plants and missile manufacturing facilities were targeted. According to him, this has damaged both Iran’s economy and military power. In the interview, Netanyahu said that the fight against Iran is not over yet. He said, Iran still has enriched uranium, several nuclear centers are active and the ballistic missile program has not been completely eliminated. Netanyahu said that US President Donald Trump and Israel agree that military action can be taken again if needed. However, he also said that if the goal is achieved through economic pressure and agreements, then military action will not be necessary. Netanyahu says Iran was months away from creating nuclear weapons In the interview, Netanyahu claimed that if Israel and US had not taken action recently, Iran could have built a nuclear bomb within one to two months. He said that Iran had been trying to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles for a long time. Netanyahu said that Iran is a country that openly talks about the destruction of US and Israel. According to him, Iran’s missile capability could have reached a position to attack US in the future. Meanwhile, Netanyahu also said that the weakening of the Iranian regime will also affect organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Houthis. According to him, all these organizations depend on Iran’s support, and if Tehran weakens, their strength will also diminish. He claimed that before the war, Hezbollah had about one and a half lakh missiles and rockets. Israel has destroyed more than 90% of them, but the threat has still not been completely eliminated. Both Iran’s economy and military strength have been damaged On a question about social media and Israel’s image in US, Netanyahu said that several foreign powers are creating an anti-Israel atmosphere through bot farms and fake accounts. He said that this has particularly affected young Americans. Netanyahu also said that Israel wants to gradually eliminate US military economic aid in the coming years. According to him, Israel now wants to become an equal partner of US instead of a country receiving aid. He said that a plan could be made to bring US military assistance to zero in the next 10 years. Additionally, Israel wants to increase partnership with US in areas such as intelligence, technology, and missile defense. ​