The American secret services would have informed Donald Trump that Ali Khamenei did not want his son to take power, considering him "incapable and unintelligent".

According to information obtained by CBS News, American intelligence communicated to President Trump that Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of Iran, was reluctant regarding his replacement by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. American espionage analyses suggest that Mojtaba was not perceived as capable of leading, having personal issues and being considered unintelligent. After Ali Khamenei's death in an Israeli missile attack, Mojtaba was chosen as supreme leader, but Trump expressed doubts about the relevance of the information regarding him, believing that Iran is without a leader.

The White House believes that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard controls the situation, and Trump described the new leader as "insignificant." Additionally, the U.S. government has offered a reward of 10 million dollars for information about Mojtaba Khamenei and other Iranian officials. This succession from father to son is remarkable in the context of the Iranian revolution of 1979.