Signaling defiance, Iran鈥檚 regime rallies around a younger Khamenei
A woman holds posters of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, named as the successor to his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, as Iran's supreme leader, during a rally supporting him in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026.
Vahid Salemi/AP
London
Despite 10 days of heavy and furiously paced U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran with the declared aim of regime change, the Islamic Republic early Monday signaled defiant continuity by choosing a new supreme leader in wartime.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the slain hard-line supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led Iran with the official title of 鈥淕od鈥檚 Deputy on Earth鈥� for 37 years. He was assassinated in Israel鈥檚 first strike of the war.
A shadowy figure with close ties to Iran鈥檚 military and security apparatus, Mr. Khamenei is rarely seen in public, but has intimate knowledge of the opaque ruling mechanisms of the Islamic Republic.
Why We Wrote This
Choosing continuity amid war, Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, despite President Donald Trump鈥檚 criticism and Israel鈥檚 threats. He has a hard-liner鈥檚 pedigree, but will his tenure be confrontational, or aimed at broadening internal support for the regime?
He is widely believed to have imbibed the deep anti-American and anti-Israeli animus of Iran鈥檚 1979 Islamic revolution, and was reportedly wounded in the same attack that killed his father, his mother, his wife, a son, and other relatives.
Regime devotees cheered the leadership announcement, as they thronged the streets in a Shiite vigil called the 鈥淣ight of Destiny.鈥� But video also emerged on social media of Iranians shouting from their apartments, 鈥淒eath to Mojtaba!鈥�
Israel, which carried out the strike that killed the elder Mr. Khamenei and other senior leaders as they met, has said that any new supreme leader will be 鈥渆liminated鈥� in a targeted assassination.
Last week U.S. President Donald Trump singled out Mr. Khamenei as a 鈥渓ightweight鈥� who was an 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� choice to lead. That elicited derisive statements from Iran鈥檚 ruling elite, who vow not to capitulate to what they consider an American imperial project.
Mr. Trump said he would personally approve any new leader in Iran, as he did in Venezuela after U.S. forces captured the anti-American president in Caracas in early January. Someone not to his liking would 鈥渘ot last very long,鈥� said Mr. Trump, who has demanded Iran鈥檚 鈥渦nconditional surrender.鈥�
Trump cast 鈥渋mportant vote鈥�
The election of Mr. Khamenei 鈥渋s a deliberate choice to showcase resilience and resistance during war,鈥� says Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
鈥淎nd it is a gamble, because they know he is now a marked man, above all. If he survives, that will certainly be good for the regime and the deep state,鈥� says Dr. Vakil, noting Mr. Khamenei鈥檚 close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and his broad influence over regime-linked economic interests.
Ironically, Mr. Trump鈥檚 criticism may have played a role in selecting Mr. Khamenei, who previously has held no official posts. His father was only the second supreme leader of Iran鈥檚 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled a monarchy and has always decried hereditary rule.
Mr. Trump 鈥渃ertainly gave Mojtaba a boost,鈥� says Dr. Vakil. 鈥淚 did not think he was a real candidate until his father was killed in this way.鈥� His selection 鈥渨as a vote of defiance, to spite Trump and showcase that the [ruling] system has resolve and will not bend the knee鈥� to U.S. demands.
Mr. Trump 鈥渄id cast an important vote,鈥� she says.
In addition to senior military and political leaders, U.S. and Israeli targets have ranged from Iran鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs to, over the weekend, refineries, fuel depots, and even a coastal desalination plant. In the first eight days of the war, the United States and Israel carried out an estimated 4,500 strikes.
Iran has struck back, with some 3,500 missiles and drones launched at Israel and at U.S. bases and the Arab nations hosting them.
Oil prices Monday surged to near $120 per barrel as facilities across the Middle East shrank production, Iran kept the global energy choke point of the Strait of Hormuz closed, and as expectations grew of a prolonged conflict.
IRGC pledges 鈥渙bedience鈥�
In a statement early Monday, the IRGC was the first to declare their 鈥減rofound respect, devotion, and obedience to the chosen one,鈥� Mr. Khamenei. The choice, it said, brought a 鈥渞enewed dawn and the beginning of a new phase鈥� after the 鈥減ainful sunset of the great and exalted鈥� elder Mr. Khamenei.
The IRGC said the leadership transition 鈥渉as proven to all that the movement of the Islamic system does not halt,鈥� and is 鈥渘ot dependent on any individual.鈥�
Mojtaba Khamenei鈥檚 allies within the IRGC 鈥� spearheaded by Hossein Taeb, a Khamenei confidante and former chief of the IRGC Intelligence Organization 鈥� were key to his success, according to Amwaj.media.
鈥淭his push, one senior political insider alleged, 鈥榳as against Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei鈥檚 written will,鈥欌�� and Mr. Trump鈥檚 statements 鈥渦ndoubtedly 鈥� provided fodder for Taeb and other hardliners pushing for their candidate,鈥� the news site reported.
Analysts say that the loss of so many of Mojtaba鈥檚 Khamenei鈥檚 close family members could shape a vengeful and confrontational tenure, which is bent on consolidating and entrenching the most hard-line elements of the Islamic Republic.
Indeed, among religious teachers mentioned on posters listing the new leader鈥檚 pedigree is Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, an ultra-conservative cleric who long advocated extreme violence, and was linked to past killings of regime opponents. He died in 2021.
The Islamic regime 鈥渇ollows its goals by force of arms,鈥� Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi once said, because it derives its legitimacy straight from God.
But Mr. Khamenei, as the son of a revolutionary stalwart, could also follow a different path, and use his pedigree to make changes and reforms of the Islamic Republic that might broaden its popular base beyond the estimated 15% of the population who are regime loyalists.
Need for internal unity
Whatever his trajectory, the fact of Mr. Khamenei鈥檚 elevation to the top slot is meant to minimize infighting among factions, while the U.S. and Israel present an existential threat.
鈥淚n terms of security protocols, there will be some measures in order to make sure [Mr. Khamenei] will be in a safe and secure place,鈥� Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran, told Al Jazeera English television.
Mr. Khamenei is seen as a 鈥渞ejuvenated version of his father鈥� who is 鈥渨ell aware鈥� of the security and political challenges Iran faces, he said.
鈥淭he country needed that leader in order to unite different factions, and maybe to stop the internal and domestic competition 鈥� to elect a new leader,鈥� said Mr. Aslani. 鈥淭hey now need to be focused on an external enemy, so leading through this difficult time needed somebody who could make important decisions. 鈥� That鈥檚 why, despite the threat of assassination, it was more important to have a new leader in place.鈥�
Most Iranians only heard Mojtaba鈥檚 Khamenei鈥檚 voice for the first time when a grainy video emerged Sunday night, recorded for his students in 2024, saying that he would withdraw from teaching to focus on other duties. Since then, largely out of sight, Mr. Khamenei served as de facto manager of his father鈥檚 office.
鈥淚t certainly matters that they are defying the views and precedent [opposing hereditary transfer of power] of two previous leaders,鈥� says Dr. Vakil at Chatham House. 鈥淏ut this is a ruling system that adapts, particularly in stressful times. For me, this is much more about defiance and preserving key interests of hard-liners and the regime, above all.鈥�
But can Iran鈥檚 security services keep Mr. Khamenei safe?
鈥淭hat is the $10 billion question,鈥� she says.