Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Despite Israel’s repeated warnings to kill anyone who succeeded slain Ayatollah Syed Ali Khameini, Iran on Monday declared his son Mojtaba as the next Supreme Leader, even as the Mideast’s war involving a dozen countries and creating global energy crisis entered the 10th day, causing wanton destruction and killing of nearly 2,000 people, the media reported.
The younger Khamenei had long been considered a contender for the top post, even before an Israeli strike killed Khamenei Senior on February 28, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position
Iranian state TV announced Mojtaba’s leadership early on Monday, as the war that began with his father’s killing took a dramatic turn.
The post-midnight announcement came after signs of a rift among Iranian officials as the country awaited a decision by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics that selects the Supreme Leader. State TV read a statement saying Mojtaba was selected based on “strong” votes and urging the nation to unite behind him, and showed people celebrating in public areas of Tehra
This is the second transfer of power in the office of the Supreme Leader. The first was in 1989–from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Ayatollah Syed Ali Khameini—since the Islamic Revolution ousted the then monarch, Shah Muhammad Reza Pahalvi, in 1979.
A secretive figure, Mojtaba has not been seen publicly for days. Now at the heart of Iran’s theocracy, he will have final say over all matters of state. He will serve as commander-in-chief of the military and powerful paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), and gains a stockpile of highly-enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, if he chooses to decree it.
He also faces the likelihood of US enmity. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” US President Donald Trump has said, adding “We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”
Trump told ABC News earlier on Sunday he wants a “say” in who comes to power once the war is over; a new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval.
The IRGC issued a statement expressing support, and the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah shared a portrait of the younger Khamenei on Telegram with the caption, “Leader of the blessed Islamic revolution.”
The Arabs are furious
Regional anger has been growing over Iranian strikes on multiple Arab nations around the Persian Gulf. The war toll on civilian targets grew as Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant vital to drinking water supplies, and oil depots in Tehran smouldered following overnight Israeli strikes.
The Arab League also lashed out at Iran for its “reckless policy” of attacking neighbours, including ones that host US forces. Gulf countries have been struck by hundreds of missiles and drones since the war started on February 28.
Saudi Arabia reported its first deaths, saying a military projectile fell onto a residential area and killed two people of Indian and Bangladeshi nationalities. Foreign residents and workers have made up most of the war’s deaths in Gulf nations.
Israel reported its first soldier deaths, saying two were killed in southern Lebanon, where its military is fighting the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah. The US military said a service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven US soldiers have so far been killed.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, around 400 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials. Iran had last week reported the death of nearly 160 schoolgirls.
Pezeshkian backtracks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian backtracked from conciliatory comments a day earlier in which he apologised for attacks on neighbours’ soil. Iranian hard-liners had swiftly contradicted him, saying war strategy would not change.
“The more pressure they impose on us, the stronger our response will naturally be,” he said on Sunday.
Pezeshkian had urged neighbouring states not to take part in US and Israeli attacks. The US strikes have not come from the Gulf Arab governments but from US bases and vessels in the region.
“The geography of some countries in the region — both overtly and covertly — is in the hands of the enemy, and those points are used against our country in acts of aggression. Intense attacks on these targets will continue,’ judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei wrote on X on Saturday.
Mohseni-Ejei and Pezeshkian were part of the three-member leadership council overseeing Iran.
Desalination and oil facilities attacked Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reported additional Iranian missiles launched toward them.
Bahrain accused Iran of indiscriminately attacking civilian targets and damaging one of its desalination plants, although its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online.
Desalination plants supply water to millions of residents in the region and thousands of stranded travellers, raising new fears of catastrophic risks in parched desert nations.
The desalination plant strike came after Iran said a US airstrike damaged a desalination plant there. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strike on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had cut into the water supply to 30 villages.
He warned that in doing so, “the US set this precedent, not Iran.”
In response, CENTCOM spokesperson US Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said that “US forces do not target civilians — period.”
Israel’s military said the oil depots were being used by Iran’s military for fuel to launch missiles.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society warned Tehran residents to take precautions against toxic air pollution and the risk of acid rain.
It also said about 10,000 civilian structures across the country had been damaged, including homes, schools and almost three dozen health facilities.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned it soon could become harder to produce and sell oil. Some regional producers, including in Iraq, have curbed output amid dangers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Half-a-million people displaced
Lebanon said over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon’s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government’s online portal. Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate as fighting intensifies.
Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said 83 children and 82 women were among those killed.
In Beirut, sheltering families crammed into schools, slept in cars or in open areas near the Mediterranean Sea, with some burned firewood to keep warm. The government said it would open a sports stadium to shelter thousands more.
Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the war’s opening days. The strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire. Israel has continued near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying Hezbollah had been trying to rebuild its positions there.