mojtaba khamenei was named Iran’s new supreme leader on Sunday (ET) by the clerical body charged with selecting the country’s highest authority, as Tehran reeled from intense aerial strikes on oil depots that smothered parts of the city in black smoke. The appointment follows weeks of violence across the region, with damage documented at military sites in the south and growing casualty counts elsewhere. The selection marks an unprecedented father‑to‑son transfer of the supreme office since the 1979 revolution.
Mojtaba Khamenei: chosen and contested
Members of the clerical body responsible for picking Iran’s top authority announced the decision on Sunday (ET). Mojtaba Khamenei is identified in the record as the second son of the late supreme leader and is now elevated to the post previously held by his father. The elevation is noted in the context of ongoing conflict that has seen strikes on energy sites and military facilities.
Observers in the record highlight that Mojtaba Khamenei never held elected office or a formal senior government role; he spent much of his life close to the center of power, managing political access within the supreme leader’s office and cultivating ties to conservative clerics and elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Supporters view his rise as continuity with the ideological line of the republic’s founders; critics point to the prospect of hereditary leadership in a state born from a revolution against monarchical rule.
Damage, casualties and immediate fallout
Heavy aerial bombardment on oil depots has left parts of Tehran thick with smoke. Satellite imagery shows damage at a naval base and an air base in Bushehr, including holes in repair buildings, damaged aircraft and shelters, and a large crater in a storage area that likely followed a secondary explosion. Images also show a capsized vessel at a jetty with a dark trail suggesting a spill.
Casualties and wider fallout are mounting. US Central Command records the death of a seventh US service member from injuries tied to an earlier regional attack last week (ET). Lebanon’s government health ministry places the death toll from strikes there at nearly 400. Saudi Civil Defense reports two deaths in Riyadh Province after a projectile struck a residential area, and identifies the two who died as foreign nationals working in a compound.
Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, said, “the strikes on oil depots are releasing hazardous materials and toxic substances into the air” and that those releases are “endangering lives on a massive scale. “
What’s next
Expect debate and confrontation to intensify in the coming days. Donald Trump, US president, stated that the selection is “unacceptable” and warned that any successor not meeting his approval would “not going to last long, ” signaling potential further escalation. Militaries and regional governments will likely continue to assess damage at bases and energy infrastructure as part of an immediate security response.
As events unfold, officials and analysts will watch how the new leadership under mojtaba khamenei interacts with armed formations, regional rivals, and international responses, with on‑the‑ground developments and strategic decisions expected to shape the next phase of the crisis.
