Iran names Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain supreme leader, as successor

Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the recently killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, according to a statement from the Assembly of Experts published by state media early Monday local time. 

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is a cleric who has long operated behind the scenes within Iran’s political and religious establishment and maintains close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Though he has never held a formal government post, he has for years been seen as a powerful figure within his father’s inner circle and a potential successor.

The development comes after Israel had warned it would target any replacement for the 86-year-old Khamenei who was killed in an Israeli strike during the first day of the war. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Sunday that Israel would pursue “the successor and everyone who tries to appoint him,” warning clerics involved in the selection process that they would also be targeted. Israeli forces struck offices linked to the Assembly of Experts earlier in the war.

In Tehran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s military response would intensify despite mounting regional tensions. In remarks broadcast by state media, he said Iran would not yield under pressure and suggested attacks on American-linked targets across the Middle East could escalate if strikes on Iran continue. “When we are attacked, we have no choice but to respond. The more pressure they impose on us, the stronger our response will naturally be,” he said.

The comments marked a harder line after Pezeshkian sought to reassure Gulf neighbors on Saturday, apologizing for Iranian strikes that had alarmed countries across the region and urging them not to join US and Israeli operations against Iran. Hard-line figures within Iran’s leadership quickly pushed back, insisting that attacks would continue on locations used to support strikes against Iran.

Meanwhile, hostilities are intensifying in Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry said Sunday that 394 people have been killed since fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah escalated earlier in the week.

Early Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a hotel in central Beirut, killing at least four people and wounding 10 others, according to the health ministry. Israel said the strike targeted commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force operating in the Lebanese capital.