<figure id="attachment_3267836" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3267836" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3267836" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/82ba03e8-guo-jiakun-27012026.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3267836" class="wp-caption-text">China&#8217;s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Iran&#8217;s decision to appoint Mojtaba Khamenei as its new leader was &#8216;based on its constitution&#8217;. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
BEIJING: China said Monday that Iran&#8217;s decision to name Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader following the killing of his father was a domestic matter, and it opposed any attempt to target him.
Israel&#8217;s military has threatened to target any successor to former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed over a week ago in a first wave of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
China&#8217;s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Monday that Iran&#8217;s decision to appoint the younger Khamenei was &#8220;based on its constitution&#8221;.
&#8220;China opposes interference in other countries&#8217; internal affairs under any pretext, and Iran&#8217;s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected,&#8221; he said when asked about the threats against the new leader.
Israel and the US have continued in recent days to pound Iran, which has retaliated by launching waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf neighbours hosting US forces.

MatchPoint Times

China opposes any targeting of new Iran’s leader

Israel has threatened to target any successor to Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

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