Republican Predicts New Iranian Supreme Leader’s ‘Days Are Numbered’ — But Warns US Cannot Assassinate Him

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) predicted Tuesday that the newly appointed Iranian supreme leader’s “days are numbered,” but warned that if U.S. were to assassinate him it would be considered “illegal.”

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has formally chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the Islamic Republic’s third supreme leader following his father’s death in initial U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.

President Donald Trump sharply criticized the decision, having previously cautioned against selecting the son of the slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying he wanted the United States to have a role in shaping Iran’s next leadership.

“I think they made a big mistake,” Trump said, adding: “I don’t know if it’s going to last.”

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Monday, the president said he “would back” the assassination if the new leader refused his demands.

McCaul appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room when host Wolf Blitzer pressed him on whether Khamenei “will be a target for elimination” and if he personally believed that the U.S. “should target him.”

In response the congressman said he thinks the leader’s “days are numbered” and that Israel “will very much target” the cleric:

Well I think that would be illegal under the statute passed by Congress regarding political assassinations. However, I have no doubt that Mossad and Israel will very much target the new leader, Khamenei’s son, now the new supreme leader. I think his days are numbered and anybody in the line of succession.

McCaul said that Mossad’s “presence” in Iran was “greater than” the U.S. had previously been aware of, saying Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 gave the White House a glimpse of “all these Israeli assets inside of Iran.”

With that, he continued:

I have no doubt that they are hunting down and targeting people in line for leadership to completely decapitate that leadership. The United States role here is to militarily disarm Iran and prevent any force projection, they want to secure the Straits of Hormuz, and they also want to make sure a nuclear bomb will never have any capability inside of Iran. I think Israel’s goal is a little different in terms of regime change. I think we’d be very happy to see that but I do think Israel will be playing a greater role in that one.

Watch above via CNN.

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