United States President Donald Trump was reportedly displeased with the individual recently chosen as Iran’s new Supreme Leader. The statement was conveyed by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.

According to Al Jazeera on Monday (March 9, 2026), Kilmeade said the US president told him, “I’m not happy,” regarding Iran’s decision to appoint Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader.

Trump himself has not yet made any public statement about Mojtaba’s appointment.

In earlier remarks, Trump described Khamenei’s son as someone who was “not influential.”

Speaking to ABC News on Sunday (March 8), before Iran officially announced Mojtaba’s selection, Trump said that Iran’s new Supreme Leader “must receive our approval.”

“If he doesn’t get our approval, he won’t last long,” he said, as reported by Al Arabiya.

Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts as the country’s new Supreme Leader, replacing his father who died following an attack by the United States and Israel on February 28.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts, consisting of 88 senior clerics, chose Mojtaba, a 56-year-old cleric, as the successor to his late father. The decision indicates that hardline factions continue to maintain firm control over Iran after Khamenei’s death a week earlier.

One member of the Assembly of Experts, Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, said in a video on Sunday (March 8) that a candidate had been selected in accordance with the late Khamenei’s guidance that Iran’s Supreme Leader should be someone who is “hated by enemies.”

“Even the Great Satan has mentioned his name,” Alekasir said in a statement delivered a few days after US President Donald Trump described Mojtaba as an “unacceptable” choice for him.

Mojtaba is considered a senior figure with close ties to Iran’s security forces and the vast business empire under their control. He opposes reformist groups seeking to improve relations with Western countries as part of efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear program.

His close relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provides Mojtaba with additional influence across Iran’s political and security institutions. According to sources familiar with his background, Mojtaba has also built influence behind the scenes as a “gatekeeper” for his father.

Iran’s Supreme Leader holds the authority to make final decisions on state matters, including foreign policy and the country’s nuclear program. Western powers aim to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, while Iran repeatedly insists that its nuclear activities are intended solely for civilian purposes.