Iran Names Ali Khamenei’s Son as Third Supreme Leader Amid Ongoing War
Iran’s Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader on March 8, 2026 , just days after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28 .
The 56-year-old hardline cleric becomes the third Supreme Leader in the Islamic Republic’s history. He holds the mid-level clerical rank of hojatoleslam and has cultivated deep ties with Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
His appointment faces international opposition, with U.S. President Donald Trump calling the choice “unacceptable.” Analysts suggest his selection signals that hardline factions retain dominance within Iran’s political establishment, as the country navigates its most serious crisis in decades.
