New Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei Wounded In Airstrike

Iranian state television has confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei, the country’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, was wounded during the current conflict.

As previously reported by NaijaChoice News, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed alongside his daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad-Adel in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound on February 28, 2026, triggering what Iranian media now calls the “Ramadan War.”

Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the slain leader, was confirmed as successor on Sunday after the regime’s 88-member Assembly of Experts voted him in – despite the late Ayatollah’s longstanding opposition to any form of hereditary succession.

A hardline cleric with deep ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and a reputation among critics for being vengeful and even more uncompromising than his father, Mojtaba now faces direct threats from Israel and the United States, which have openly vowed to target whoever takes over leadership.

The danger became personal when the opening-day strikes that claimed his father also killed his wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, daughter of former Parliament Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel.

During the state TV broadcast announcing his rise to Supreme Leader, anchors repeatedly described Mojtaba as a “janbaz” – the Iranian term for someone injured by the enemy – in the “Ramadan War.” No further details were given about the nature of his wounds, and the new leader has not appeared in public since the war began.

The announcement came overnight after an extraordinary session of the Assembly of Experts. Sources familiar with the process noted some initial objections over the risk of the move looking like hereditary rule, but Mojtaba ultimately secured the position in a decisive vote.

Analysts say his selection signals defiance and a determination to continue hardline policies even as Iran faces relentless pressure. The younger Khamenei is known to have coordinated military and intelligence operations from his father’s office and maintains vast influence within the security apparatus.

With Iran retaliating through missile strikes on Israeli and Gulf targets, oil prices have already surged past $100 per barrel, raising fresh concerns for global energy markets.

Mojtaba Khamenei’s emergence as leader at this critical hour comes at a time when the Islamic Republic is under its most severe test in decades, and the world watches to see how the “janbaz” Supreme Leader will steer Iran through the Ramadan War.