Few people wanted Mojtaba Khamenei to become Iran's next supreme leader, not US President Donald Trump, and not even his own father. The late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on February 28th, had made clear in his will that he did not want his son to succeed him, according to a report by the New York Post . However, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ultimately pushed Mojtaba into the position anyway. According to experts, the elder Khamenei had serious reservations about his son's suitability for the role. "In Khamenei's will, he explicitly asked Mojtaba not to be named as successor," said Khosro Isfahani, research director at the opposition group National Union for Democracy, which has ties to Iranian intelligence networks. Read | When A Young Mojtaba Khamenei Was Witness To Father's Assault Isfahani said the late leader believed Mojtaba lacked the experience and political stature needed to run the country. ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow would carry out more tests of the hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile in "combat conditions," a day after firing one on Ukraine.
"We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and character of the security threats posted to Russia," Putin said in a televised meeting with military chiefs.
Russia fired the new-generation missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro early on Thursday in a major escalation of the weaponry being deployed in the nearly three-year conflict.
The Kremlin boss also ordered the missile, which flies at speeds of Mach 10 -- 10 times the speed of sound -- to be put into serial production (mass production). Russia is developing similar advanced systems, he added.
"We need to begin serial production. The decision... has in effect been taken," Putin said, praising the "particular strength of this weapon and its power.
"The weapon system that was tested yesterday is another faithful guarantee of Russia's territorial integrity and sovereignty," he added.
Putin claimed no other countries in the world had such missile technology. While he conceded other states would soon develop them, he said: "That will be tomorrow, after a year or two. But we have this system now. That's important."
His choreographed meeting with the defence minister and those in charge of developing the missile came at the end of a week that has seen the Ukraine conflict escalate rapidly.
Putin said the firing of the Oreshnik missile was a direct response to Kyiv's forces using US- and UK-supplied missiles on Russian territory for the first time.
In an address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said Russia reserved the right to fire missiles at military facilities in countries whose weapons are being used by Ukraine -- specifically the United States and Britain.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/JuMTdk5
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