ISTANBUL

The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader is in “accordance with the country’s constitution,” China said Monday, opposing targeting of the 56-year-old cleric.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun was responding to a question about the decision on Sunday by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which announced Mojtaba as the successor to his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israel airstrikes on Tehran on Feb. 28.

Guo said Beijing had noted the reports of Mojtaba’s appointment, but did not make any further comment.

Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body responsible under the Constitution for appointing the country’s top political and religious authority.

With his appointment, Mojtaba, 56, becomes the third supreme leader of the Republic since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The US and Israel have continued a large-scale military campaign against Iran since Feb. 28, which has killed more than 1,250 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 165 schoolgirls.

Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.

China opposes any external interference in other nations' internal affairs under any pretext, said Guo, when asked about US President Donald Trump's comment that the new Iranian leader "won't last long" without his administration's "approval."

"Iran's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected," said Guo, reiterating China's call for an "immediate" end to the military conflict and resuming dialogue.