Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the country’s slain supreme leader, as his father’s successor, according to a statement from top clerics published on state media. His ascension, announced early Monday morning, signals the government’s desire for continuity as Iran faces expanding attacks from the United States and Israel nine days into the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was appointed by a committee of senior Shiite clerics after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the country for more than three decades, was killed in an airstrike during the opening blow of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. He is known for having close ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and takes the helm not just as Iran’s new religious and political authority but also as the commander in chief of its armed forces.
Israel’s military has been threatening to kill whoever succeeds Ayatollah Khamenei, and President Trump has called the younger Khamenei an “unacceptable” choice. Before the announcement, he warned in an ABC News interview on Sunday that the next supreme leader “is not going to last long” without the approval of the United States.
There was no sign of an offramp for the war, as fears mounted that the fighting would broaden across the Middle East. In a sign that American officials were aware of growing risks in the region, the State Department told American diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, according to current and former U.S. officials.
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