As It Celebrates a New Leader, Iran Must Abandon Its Hardline Stance

In Iran, the Assembly of Experts has chosen slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor. This is a group of 88 clerics with the power to elect the country's supreme leader. Now, the new leader needs to initiate a clear break from his father's regime, which has been in conflict with the international community.

Mojtaba's election is generally seen as indicating the leadership's continued desire to fight back against the United States and Israel. In fact, US President Donald Trump told Fox News that he was "not happy" with Mojtaba's selection. He has been calling for Iran to transition to a pro-American regime following the senior Khamenei's death, 

Meanwhile, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has pledged allegiance to the new leader.

Nevertheless, the new regime must immediately end attacks on neighboring countries and ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. 

And Mojtaba Khamenei must also clearly abandon the nuclear development path that his father pursued. The Trump administration is demanding that Iran give up its stockpile of enriched uranium, a material that is used to build nuclear weapons.

Limiting Iran's Weapons

Iran claims that under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However, there is widespread concern in the international community about Iran's ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons.

During talks with Iran up to this February, the Trump administration also demanded limits on the range capabilities of Iran's ballistic missiles. That was due to concerns that Iranian missiles could reach beyond the Middle East to European countries and the US. It is unacceptable that the security of so many countries could thus be endangered.

Iran has also backed the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It has furthermore supported pro-Iranian militias in Lebanon and Yemen. These forces have become a destabilizing factor in the Middle East and have given rise to numerous conflicts. Tehran must immediately stop providing such support.

Respect Human Rights

Large-scale demonstrations took place in Iran from the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026. Besides discontent with soaring prices, they also reflected public dissatisfaction with the authoritarian posture adopted by the Khamenei regime.

We cannot ignore how the crackdown that followed took the lives of many thousands of demonstrators. The new leadership needs to listen sincerely to the voices of the Iranian people. 

Over one thousand people have died already in Iran since the current fighting with the US and Israel began. To prevent an increase in the number of victims from the hostilities, Mojtaba Khamenei must reverse his father's hardline stance.

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(Read the editorial in Japanese.)

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun