TEHRAN: Iran fired a first wave of missiles toward Israel on Monday after Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
“Iran fires the first wave of missiles under Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei toward occupied territories,” IRIB said in a message posted on its Telegram channel.
The broadcaster also shared an image of a projectile bearing the slogan “At Your Command, Sayyid Mojtaba,” a phrase rooted in religious tradition and seen as an expression of allegiance to the newly appointed leader.
Iran earlier named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader, signalling that religious leadership remains firmly in control as the week-old US-Israeli conflict with Iran pushed global oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Mojtaba, a cleric with influence within Iran’s security forces and the vast business networks built under his father, had been widely viewed as a leading contender ahead of Sunday’s vote by the Assembly of Experts — the 88-member clerical body responsible for selecting the country’s supreme leader.
“By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts has appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the assembly said in a statement issued shortly after midnight Tehran time.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, commenting on the appointment, said the decision reflected Iran’s determination to strengthen national unity.
The position of supreme leader grants Mojtaba Khamenei ultimate authority over all matters of state in the Islamic Republic.
