India, March 9 -- Mojtaba Khamenei has been named the new Supreme Leader of Iran, succeeding his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike at the outset of the ongoing Middle East war.

Iranian state media reported that several members of the Khamenei family were also killed in the initial strikes, including Mojtaba's wife Zahra Adel, his mother Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, and one of his sons.

The appointment signals that hardline factions within Iran's ruling establishment are determined to maintain their grip on power despite mounting domestic and international pressure for reform, as U.S. and Israeli military operations continue in the region.

Mojtaba's rise to the position also carries symbolic weight. The I...