Iranians are expected to gather nationwide on Monday afternoon to pledge allegiance to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a hard-line regime insider deeply intertwined with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps whose rise sends a strong message of defiance against the United States. Hours after Iran named its new supreme leader, the IRGC announced more missile strikes across the region. On Monday, Israel said it had launched a new wave of “wide-scale” strikes across Iran, targeting Tehran, Isfahan and sites in the country’s south. Iran rallies behind new supreme leader Return to menuIran announced a nationwide gathering Monday to pledge allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei — the 56-year-old second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Tehran on Feb. 28 — as the new supreme leader. Before the announcement, Trump said the new supreme leader “is not going to last long” without U.S. approval, and Israel’s military vowed to target any successor to the late ayatollah.

Source: Washington Post March 09, 2026 14:23 UTC