Backed by the Military, Mojtaba Signals a Hardline Showdown With the US and Israel [US–Iran War]

After Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei was killed in US–Israel airstrikes, his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was chosen on the 8th (local time) as the new Supreme Leader of Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran is thereby signaling its determination to fight the United States to the bitter end. The power structure is shifting toward a more hardline system in which the security establishment wields greater influence. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) immediately pledged loyalty and vowed to defend the new leader at all costs, reinforcing the sense that Tehran’s external stance will grow even more confrontational.
Analysts say this development is drawing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power center even closer to the IRGC. Created under the constitution of the revolutionary government that toppled the pro‐US monarchy after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRGC is a powerful military organization that maintains its own ground, naval, and air forces separate from the regular army. The Basij militia, a paramilitary force deployed to suppress anti‐government protests, is also under IRGC control. Mojtaba Khamenei has built close ties with the IRGC over the past 20 years. The symbolism of a martyr’s son leading the anti‐US struggle as Supreme Leader serves as a driving force that keeps hardline factions such as the IRGC and the Basij militia united. Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who had been mentioned as a potential successor, has also publicly declared his support. Under Mojtaba’s leadership, the war is now seen as more likely to become a long, drawn‐out conflict.
However, this succession could trigger controversy over hereditary rule and raise simultaneous questions about both political and religious legitimacy. Another variable is the anti‐government camp. In recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has seen repeated protests over women’s rights and economic hardship, but under wartime conditions and tight military control, overt political activity has been heavily suppressed.
km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter