Security personnel stand guard in front of a banner with an image of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and his father Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iranians take part in a protest marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026. (Credit: Alaa Al Marjani/ Reuters)
The U.S.- Israeli military campaign in Iran began with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his close advisers, gathered around him on Feb. 28. Since then, his son Mojtaba has been appointed to succeed him as Iran’s third supreme leader — a move that signals power tightening around the Islamic Revolutionary Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a commitment to a hardline wartime stance, whatever the cost.After the killings of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary forces, the Israeli army also announced on Wednesday, March 18, that it had killed Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib. According to Defense Minister Israel Katz, the prime minister has authorized the army to eliminate any senior Iranian official without requiring further...
The U.S.- Israeli military campaign in Iran began with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his close advisers, gathered around him on Feb. 28. Since then, his son Mojtaba has been appointed to succeed him as Iran’s third supreme leader — a move that signals power tightening around the Islamic Revolutionary Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a commitment to a hardline wartime stance, whatever the cost.After the killings of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary forces, the Israeli army also announced on Wednesday, March 18, that it had killed Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib. According to Defense Minister Israel Katz, the prime minister has authorized the army to eliminate any senior Iranian official without requiring...
