Iran has delayed naming a successor to its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei due to security concerns, according to two Iranian officials, following US and Israeli comments that the new leader could also be targeted.Ayatollah Khamenei’s 56-year-old son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has emerged as a top contender for the post, but concerns have grown over his security after media reports that he could be the new face of Iran, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. Once Khamenei’s name began to circulate as the preferred candidate to succeed his father, the US said he would not be acceptable and could be removed. “They’re wasting their time,” President Trump told Axios on Thursday, calling the former supreme leader’s son a “lightweight” and “unacceptable” choice. Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a social media post on Wednesday that any leader appointed by Iran to succeed Khamenei would be “an obvious target for elimination.” American and Israeli strikes have so far killed Ayatollah Khamenei and top military commanders and defense figures – but not clerics. The leaders of Iran’s three branches of government – the president, the judiciary and the parliament – are alive.If Khamenei is appointed as the top religious, political and military figure in Iran, it would signal continuation of the hardline conservative regime. Khamenei, a mysterious but influential figure who has operated in the shadows of power, has close ties to the powerful IRGC.