Iran Signals No Letup in War as Khamenei’s Son Made Leader

Mojtaba Khamenei in 2020.Photographer: Rouzbeh Fouladi/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Paul Wallace and Christine Burke

March 9, 2026 at 7:04 AM UTC

Updated on

March 9, 2026 at 3:38 PM UTC

Iran elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the hardline son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as its new supreme leader, signaling Tehran won’t back down in a war raging across the Middle East and causing a surge in energy prices.

The choice was criticized by US President Donald Trump, who is under mounting pressure not to prolong the fighting as oil prices approach four-year highs and fears grow of a new inflation crisis.