Iran announced late Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei has been chosen as the new supreme leader, succeeding his father Ali Khamenei, whose killing by the United States and Israel at the outset of the war left Tehran facing its biggest leadership test in decades. The move sets the tone for the conflict’s 10th day, with Iranian officials declaring the war has entered “a new phase” and dismissing expectations of a near-term end.
Hours after the new leader’s selection was announced, Iran launched its first missile barrage toward Israel under his leadership, Iranian state television said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the attack marked “the 30th wave of Operation True Promise 4,” adding that it targeted “terrorist American bases in the region and Zionist bases in northern Israel.”
At least one person was killed and two others seriously wounded by an Iranian missile with a cluster warhead that was fired at the center of Israel on Monday.
The escalation quickly spread beyond Israel, with Iran expanding its attacks in the Gulf by targeting an oil complex in Bahrain, prompting the country’s main refinery to declare force majeure.
The Iranian strike comes as oil prices rose sharply because of the war in the Middle East and Iran’s continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Iran defies pressure with new supreme leader
Iran’s Assembly of Experts, made up of 88 clerics, chose Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, succeeding his father. Observers see the move as a sign that the Islamist current will keep its grip on power in Tehran and remain willing to challenge the US administration.
President Donald Trump had earlier opposed Mojtaba taking the post, saying Washington should have a say in the choice of Iran’s leader.
Trump said in an interview with ABC News, “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.”
In later comments to the Times of Israel, Trump stopped short of giving a clear position on the new leader’s appointment, saying only, “We’ll see what happens.” He also said that any decision on ending the war would be a “mutual” one between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said last Wednesday that any leader appointed by the “Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel and threaten the US” will be an “unequivocal target for elimination.”
A war with no clear end
A senior Iranian official told CNN that the conflict with Israel and the United States had entered “a new phase,” saying there were no signs the war was nearing an end.
The official added that any targeting of Iranian oil and fuel depots would trigger a regional response, hinting that energy infrastructure in the region could be targeted in the coming days.
The official said Iran “will not give up its control over the Strait of Hormuz until it achieves its desired results,” stressing that Tehran will decide when the conflict ends.
That matched the position voiced by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said the United States would “set the terms” for ending the war with Iran.
He added in an interview with CBS News that Trump’s talk of “unconditional surrender” means Washington is fighting for victory and will determine the final terms.
Speaking about Iran, he added, “We’ll know when they’re not capable of fighting. There’ll be a point where they’ll have no choice but to do that. They will surrender.”
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the United States and Israel are preparing plans for a war that will last at least five more weeks.
According to the channel, the timeline under discussion is no less than six weeks from the start of events, with the central US-Israeli goal being the complete destruction of Iran’s operational capabilities, especially its missile system and launch platforms.
America counts the cost of its offensive
The US military announced Sunday that a soldier had died of wounds suffered during Iran’s retaliatory attack on US bases in Saudi Arabia last week, bringing the US death toll to seven.
Casualty figures in Iran exceed 1,200, with hundreds reported killed in Lebanon, 14 in the Gulf states, and at least 13 in Israel.
The Israeli military also announced the start of a new wave of strikes on “regime targets” in central Iran, shortly after saying it had carried out strikes on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it struck ballistic missile launch sites, a missile-engine manufacturing plant, and internal security command centers, including the brigade corps command, the internal security forces command in Isfahan, and the Revolutionary Guard police command, without announcing the results of those attacks.
The United States and Israel launched their assault on Iran at the start of last week, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a number of Revolutionary Guard commanders. Tehran responded with a broad bombardment that included Tel Aviv, US bases, and US embassies in the Gulf and Middle East countries.
The assault came while negotiations were underway that had begun on Feb. 6 through Omani mediation to explore the chances of reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, which the two allies are trying to end and prevent Tehran from completing.
The current operations are the second wave of US-Israeli strikes against Iran in a matter of months, after Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June, in which the United States joined by carrying out air strikes on Iran that it said were meant to deter Tehran from developing its nuclear program. Iran responded by firing missiles at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar before Trump announced the war had ended by agreement
