Iran Picks New Supreme Leader; Toxic Black Rain Falls after Israeli Strikes on Iranian Oil Depots

Mar 9, 2026 | Iran has selected Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Iran's supreme leader. The elder Khamenei was assassinated in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28. Iran selected the "hard-liner" Mojtaba Khamenei in defiance of President Trump, who has repeatedly claimed he can choose Iran's next leader. His selection also contradicts the Islamic Republic's previous resistance to hereditary succession. "The war changed everything," says Iranian American political analyst Hooman Majd, who adds that Iran's leadership sees the conflict as "existential" and is therefore carrying out retaliatory attacks throughout the region to "make it painful economically and in many other ways for the United States and for Israel to continue the war."

Meanwhile, preliminary investigations by _The New York Times_, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International indicate that the U.S. military carried out the strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran, that killed over 100 young girls. "It is a war against people," says Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, who is calling for the school massacre to be investigated as a war crime.

"Iran is going to be changed forever," says Majd, rejecting claims from U.S. leaders that military intervention has created the conditions for a civilian uprising. "For them to be able to rise up and take control of the government is just a pipe dream. I mean, how are they supposed to do that when they're being killed or are running away from missiles almost on a daily basis?"


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Khamenei's Son Built Secret Overseas Property Empire - Bloomberg

IRAN INTERNATIONAL: Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, directs a significant overseas real estate network through intermediaries, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing a year-long investigation.

No assets appear directly in Mojtaba's name, but he has been actively involved in deals dating to at least 2011, according to Western intelligence assessments, insider accounts, real estate records, and confidential documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The portfolio includes luxury London properties exceeding $138 million (one bought for $46.5 million in 2014), a villa in an elite Dubai district, and upscale hotels in Frankfurt and Mallorca.

Funding, largely from Iranian oil sales, moved through British, Swiss, Liechtenstein, and UAE banks via shell companies such as Ziba Leisure Ltd., Birch Ventures Ltd., and Emirati entities, as tracked by the report.

Iranian banker Ali Ansari, sanctioned by the UK in October, features as owner or director in many transactions. Ansari denies any connection to Mojtaba and plans to challenge the sanctions, the report said. » | Iran International | Thursday, January 29, 2026

From shadow to power: who is Mojtaba Khamenei? »

Iran’s New Leader: Hardline Cleric, Military Insider, and Business Tycoon | Louise Callaghan

Mar 9, 2026 | “I think what it symbolises, obviously, is continuity more than anything else.”

The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader shows that the ruling system is intact, rather than changing direction, says Louise Callaghan, foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times.

Iran : Mojtaba Khamenei, un « dur » proche des gardiens de la révolution, succède à son père comme guide suprême

LE FIGARO : PORTRAIT - L’assemblée des experts, un groupe de 88 religieux chargés de désigner le dirigeant du pays, a annoncé dimanche que le fils de l’ayatollah Ali Khamenei, éliminé samedi 28 février par Israël, avait été choisi.

Mojtaba Khamenei, l’influent deuxième fils du guide suprême éliminé samedi 28 février par une salve de missiles tirée contre sa résidence, a été élu ce dimanche pour succéder à son père. Plus tôt dans la journée, l’un des membres de l’Assemblée des experts, un groupe de 88 religieux chargés de désigner le prochain dirigeant du pays, avait déclaré que « le vote pour nommer le guide [avait] eu lieu et que le guide [avait] été choisi », mais sans dévoiler son identité. Bien que le processus se soit déroulé dans des conditions relativement opaques, il semblait avoir impliqué quatre ou cinq autres candidats. Parmi eux : l’ancien président Hassan Rouhani, le haut dignitaire religieux Alireza Arafi, l’ultraconservateur Mohammed Mahdi Mir Bagheri ou encore le réformateur Hassan Khomeiny, petit-fils du fondateur de la République islamique.

« La désignation de Mojtaba Khamenei témoignerait de la priorité accordée par le régime à sa continuité », observait cette semaine dans nos colonnes Vali Nasr, professeur de relations internationales à l’université Johns-Hopkins. Ali Vaez, directeur du programme Iran au centre de réflexion International Crisis Group, soulignait pour sa part qu’elle constituerait « une arme à double tranchant ». « D’un côté, le fils de l’ayatollah Khamenei est un proche des gardiens de la révolution qui pourrait prendre la relève sans délai car il connaît tous les rouages du système pour avoir travaillé pendant plus de trente ans au côté de son père. Mais, de l’autre, il est extraordinairement impopulaire et n’a jamais occupé de fonction élective. Sa nomination consacrerait l’avènement d’un système dynastique, alors que la République islamique était jusqu’à présent créditée d’avoir mis fin à une monarchie héréditaire. » » | Par Cyrille Louis | dimanche 8 mars 2026

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Iran’s New Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei’s Son, Is a Mysterious Figure

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The succession of the slain leader’s son is seen as a signal of the Islamic republic’s defiance of Israel and the United States, and of continuity during crisis.

Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the recently killed supreme leader, as his father’s successor, according to a statement from top clerics published on state media early Monday local time, signaling the continuity of hard-line theocratic rule as Israeli and U.S. airstrikes pound the country.

Mr. Khamenei himself, though, is something of a mystery even within Iran.

He is a son of the recently killed supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has been an influential figure in the shadows of power, coordinating military and intelligence operations at his father’s office. He is known to have very close ties to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and was considered their favored candidate.

Unlike his father, Mr. Khamenei, 56, carries the full religious credentials as an ayatollah at the moment of his ascension. He was known for teaching popular Shiite seminary classes.

But his personality or politics outside of his father’s tight inner circle are not known. He seldom speaks or appears in public. And now he will take the helm not just as Iran’s new religious and political authority, but also as the commander in chief of its armed forces.

Vali R. Nasr, an expert on Iran and Shiite Islam at Johns Hopkins University, said that Mr. Khamenei would be a surprising choice, but a telling one.

“The choice of Mojtaba is choice of continuity with his father, and also he is more ready than other candidates to quickly consolidate power and assert control over the system,” said Mr. Nasr. He added that Mr. Khamenei had been considered a successor for a long time; but for the past two years, he had seemed to have dropped off the radar. » | Farnaz Fassihi | Farnaz Fassihi has lived and worked in Iran, has covered the country for three decades and was a war correspondent in the Middle East for 15 years.| Sunday, March 8, 2026

Iran Names Khamenei’s Son New Supreme Leader

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Top clerics said in a statement published in state media that they had picked Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to succeed his father.

Screenshot taken from this section of the New York Times. | Mojtaba Khamenei, center, the son of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in 2019.| Credit...Rouzbeh Fouladi/Middle East Images, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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.

And as markets opened Sunday evening, oil prices surged more than 10 percent, crossing $100 a barrel for the first time in almost four years. Live Updates » | Farnaz Fassihi, Edward Wong, Mark Mazzetti, Eric Schmitt and Aaron Boxerman | Sunday, March 8, 2026