Wall Street Journal: Iran Signals a Fight to the End With Appointment of Khamenei’s Son
Mojtaba Khamenei, close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, is expected to take a confrontational stance toward the West.
The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the [assassinated] Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader defies President Trump and signals that Tehran won’t back down as it fights a war with the US and “Israel”.
The elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei, a conservative long close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, shows that Trump’s efforts so far to cow the “regime” into surrender have failed. It also appears to have put “hard-liners” in firm control of the country, with moderate and reformist factions long marginalized. The 56-year old Khamenei is expected to take a confrontational stance toward the West.
His appointment also shows that Iran won’t acquiesce to Trump’s demand that he approve the country’s new top cleric. Trump told Axios last week that “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me.”
March 9, 2026 2K 1
