Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei could be more hard-line than his late father as he might be 'willing to take more risks', a researcher specialising in Iran's nuclear programme says

Donald Trump's war with Iran could push the new Supreme Leader to do "the worst thing" with nuclear weapons, an Iran researcher has warned.

Raz Zimmt, head of the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies, says Mojtaba Khamenei could emerge from the ongoing Middle East conflict even more hard-line than his late father, raising the risk that Iran pursues nuclear weapons.

Zimmt believes the younger Khamenei might take bigger risks unlike his "very cautious" father. "The only good thing which one could say about [Ali] Khamenei [...] was that he was usually very cautious," Zimmt told Newsweek. "He didn't take very risky decisions. And I think that the new leadership under Mojtaba might be willing to take more risks."

Zimmt said his biggest concern is the country's remaining enriched uranium. "If Iran, after the war, will be able to still use the fissile material which is still left in Iran, there is 450 or 400 kilograms of enriched uranium to 60% - in order to enrich uranium to 90$, then convert that to uranium metal and break out, which is certainly a possibility," he added.

"This is one of the things we could expect from Mojtaba. This would be a very negative development. I think this is the worst thing we could expect from him."

It comes after claims the new leader was flown to Moscow for leg surgery which was "personally offered by Putin" after he was injured in airstrikes.

It's been more than two weeks since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, targeting key sites and killing the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with much of his immediate family. Iran has retaliated with multiple strikes across military bases throughout the Middle East and beyond.

Drones and rockets struck the US embassy in Baghdad this morning, the second such attack of the war. The UAE briefly closed its airspace due to missile and drone threats from Iran, though flights have now resumed.

Last week, Donald Trump called on other nations - including the UK, China, France, Japan, and South Korea - to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route through which 20% of the world's oil transits.

Trump said he hoped the UK would be among "many countries" to help combat Iranian efforts to block the crucial waterway. Writing on Truth Social, he said the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea will "hopefully" be sending warships to the shipping route, before issuing a second plea, saying countries "that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage."

Leaders from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy meanwhile warned that a major Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon could have “devastating humanitarian consequences.” At least 886 people have been killed so far, including 38 health workers.