Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor, Iranian state TV announced early Monday, as the war that began a little over a week ago with his father’s killing took a dramatic turn.
The younger Mr. Khamenei, who had not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, had long been considered a contender for the post, even before an Israeli strike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.
The announcement came after signs of a rift among Iranian officials as the country awaited a decision by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics that selects the supreme leader. State TV read a statement from the assembly saying he was selected based on “strong” votes and urging the nation to unite behind him. The station broadcast scenes of people celebrating in parts of Tehran.
There has been only one other transfer of power in the office of supreme leader since the Islamic Revolution almost a half-century ago.
A secretive figure, the 56-year-old Mr. Khamenei now stands at the heart of Iran’s theocracy and will have final say over all matters of state. He will serve as commander-in-chief of the military and powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. He also has authority over a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, if he chooses to decree it.
The selection of Mr. Khamenei faces the likelihood of U.S. criticism. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” U.S. President Donald Trump has said. “We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump told ABC News on Sunday he wants a say in who comes to power once the war is over; a new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval.
But Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a statement expressing support, and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah shared a portrait of the younger Mr. Khamenei on Telegram with the caption, “Leader of the blessed Islamic revolution.”
Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani, speaking to state TV, praised the Assembly of Experts for “courageously” convening even as airstrikes continued in Tehran. He added that the younger Mr. Khamenei had been trained by his father and “can handle this situation.”
Regional anger grows over strikes
The war’s toll on civilian targets grew as Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant vital to drinking water supplies, and oil depots in Tehran smoldered following overnight Israeli strikes.
As the war impedes the region’s oil production and shipping, crude prices have surpassed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, traded at $ 101.19 on Sunday, up 9.2 % from Friday’s closing price.
In a sign of rising regional anger, the Arab League chief lashed out at Iran for its “reckless policy” of attacking neighbors, including ones that host U.S. forces. Gulf countries have been struck by hundreds of missiles and drones since the war started on Feb. 28.
Saudi Arabia reported its first deaths, saying a military projectile fell onto a residential area and killed two people of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality. Foreign residents and workers have made up most of the war’s deaths in Gulf nations.
Israel reported its first soldier deaths, saying two were killed in southern Lebanon, where its military is fighting Hezbollah. The U.S. military said a service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven U.S. soldiers have now been killed.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials.
Desalination and oil facilities attacked
Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia reported additional Iranian missiles launched toward them.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged neighboring states not to take part in U.S. and Israeli attacks. The U.S. strikes have not come from Gulf Arab governments but from U.S. bases and vessels in the region.
Bahrain accused Iran of indiscriminately attacking civilian targets and damaging one of its desalination plants, though its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online.
Desalination plants supply water to millions of residents in the region and thousands of stranded travelers, raising new fears of catastrophic risks in parched desert nations.
The strike came after Iran said a U.S. airstrike damaged a desalination plant there. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strike on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had cut into the water supply to 30 villages.
He warned that in doing so “the U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.”
In response, CENTCOM spokesperson U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said that “U.S. forces do not target civilians – period.”
Iranian authorities also said Israel’s overnight strikes on four oil storage tankers and a petroleum transfer terminal killed four people. Witnesses in Tehran said the smoke was so thick that it looked as if the sun had not risen.
Israel’s military said the oil depots were used by Iran’s military for fuel to launch missiles.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society warned Tehran residents to take precautions against toxic air pollution and the risk of acid rain. It also said about 10,000 civilian structures across the country had been damaged, including homes, schools and almost three dozen health facilities.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned it soon could become harder to produce and sell oil. Some regional producers, including in Iraq, have curbed output amid dangers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Lebanon says a half-million people displaced
Lebanon said over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon’s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government’s online portal. Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate.
Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said 83 children and 82 women have been among those killed.
In Beirut, sheltering families crammed into schools, slept in cars or in open areas near the Mediterranean Sea, where some burned firewood to keep warm.
Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the Iran war’s opening days.
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This story was reported by The Associated Press. Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, Chehayeb from Beirut and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press journalists Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel and Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, contributed reporting.