Mojtaba Khamenei Named Supreme Leader After Father Killed in US-Israeli Strikes

Wikipedia, Iran International, and CNN all report that:

1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated on 28 February 2026 in joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. His death was confirmed by the Iranian Supreme National Security Council and state media the following day. Iran's Assembly of Experts subsequently elected his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as Supreme Leader — the first familial transfer of power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

2. During the succession process, an Interim Leadership Council comprising President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and senior cleric Alireza Arafi held constitutional authority. Israel struck the Assembly of Experts building in Qom in a direct attempt to disrupt the selection process.

3. The broader conflict, now in its fifth day, has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, disrupted approximately 20% of global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz — pushing Brent Crude from $70 to over $80 per barrel — and prompted Iranian retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israel, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

The elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei — long viewed as a political heir with no prior governmental role — has drawn sharp criticism from reformist factions inside Iran, who have described the appointment as a dynastic seizure of theocratic power. On social media, the hashtag #NotMySupremeLeader circulated widely among Iranian diaspora communities, while Gulf state governments issued emergency security advisories following Iran's retaliatory strikes across the region.