Iran's New Supreme Leader Brings Hardline Crypto Ties and $7.8B War Chest

The Iranian Assembly of Experts has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new supreme leader, marking the first father-to-son succession in its history.

Mojtaba, a Shia cleric born in Mashhad in 1969, spent decades as an informal power broker in his father's office with deep ties to the Revolutionary Guard. His appointment came days after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.

The IRGC immediately pledged full obedience to Mojtaba, signaling a hardline continuity rather than an opening for negotiation. Iranian armed forces claimed they could sustain at least six months of high-intensity conflict at the current operational pace.