One of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s sons has officially been named his successor in Iran after an Israeli strike killed the supreme leader. Mojtaba Khamenei has long been considered a contender for the role, even before his death at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The streets of Tehran were full of supporters celebrating in public areas early on Monday after news of the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader was released. Iranian state TV made the announcement early on Monday, with a statement saying he was selected based on “strong” votes.
Thousands filled a central square in Tehran in a show of allegiance to the new supreme leader. They were seen to wave flags of the Islamic Republic, while shouting phrases like “Death to Israel,” and “Death to America.”
“America and Israel: you’ve failed and you will drown in the swamp you are stuck in,” said Abbas Ali Saeedipoor, one of the demonstrators to AP.
Khamenei, 56, is only the third supreme leader in the history of the Islamic Republic, with close ties to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has fired missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states following the death of his father in the war’s opening salvo.
Meanwhile, oil prices surged and stock markets slid on Monday as hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader. His appointment, together with new strikes on regional oil infrastructure, have signaled that Iran is now digging in 10 days into the conflict launched by the US and Israel.
Moreover, the Iran conflict has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets. It has also led to foreigners fleeing from business hubs, with millions of people seeking shelter as bombs hit locations like government buildings, military bases, oil and water installations, hotels and at least one school.
The school in Minab was attacked by a US Tomahawk missile, killing 168-180 people, mainly schoolgirls aged 7 to 12. President Donald Trump had implied that Iran had bombed the building, which has now been proven false.
As the news hit the headlines, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that there is no oil shortage. “Prices will drop again soon, he said, suggesting shipments from Venezuela to the US could help to offset the price hike.
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US is “well on our way” to achieving its objective, which reportedly is to eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile stockpile and its ability to produce more and launch them. Moreover, the Trump administration has been offering shifting timelines and rationales since the start of the bombing of Iran.
Meanwhile, sirens have blared multiple times elsewhere in the region, with Israel struck with unrelenting Iranian drones and missiles on Monday. A missile strike in central Israel killed one man and injured one woman.
According to Israel, it is carrying out a wide-scale wave of strikes” on the Iranian city of Isfahan, as well as the capital, Tehran and in southern Iran.
