A man waves a flag bearing the portraits of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the late Supreme Leader of Iran, and Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader of Iran, during a gathering in Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters)
The son outlived the father by a matter of seconds. When the United States and Israel struck Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s official residence in Tehran on Feb. 28, killing him instantly along with four members of his family, Mojtaba had reportedly stepped out for a walk in the garden.Severely wounded, he succeeded his father a few days later, in the middle of a war waged by Washington and Tel Aviv that had set the Middle East ablaze.His appointment was widely seen in the United States as a provocation. Washington had bet that decapitating the regime would bring about its collapse and had predicted a bleak fate for what remained of it. It was also a striking irony in light of Iran’s revolutionary history, which had sought to break with the dynastic logic of the shah. In another twist of history, Mojtaba’s trajectory echoes that of his...
The son outlived the father by a matter of seconds. When the United States and Israel struck Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s official residence in Tehran on Feb. 28, killing him instantly along with four members of his family, Mojtaba had reportedly stepped out for a walk in the garden.Severely wounded, he succeeded his father a few days later, in the middle of a war waged by Washington and Tel Aviv that had set the Middle East ablaze.His appointment was widely seen in the United States as a provocation. Washington had bet that decapitating the regime would bring about its collapse and had predicted a bleak fate for what remained of it. It was also a striking irony in light of Iran’s revolutionary history, which had sought to break with the dynastic logic of the shah. In another twist of history, Mojtaba’s trajectory echoes that of...
Hacking Lebanese Politics #36: Is Lebanon about to abolish the death penalty?
Iran says US strikes on civilian infrastructure a 'gross war crime'
US-Iran strikes: Latest developments