The selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader will embolden hard-liners, entrench Tehran's resolve to retaliate against U.S. and Israeli attacks, and make potential concessions on Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs unlikely. On March 9, Iran's Assembly of Experts, the clerical body tasked with choosing the country's supreme leader, selected Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Feb. 28 during U.S. and Israeli strikes. The assembly subsequently called on Iranians to unite behind Mojtaba, a hard-line, mid-level cleric with deep ties to Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Several key officials -- including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi and the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani -- have since issued statements in support of the decision. However, Mojtaba remains at risk of sharing his father's fate, as Israel previously threatened to kill Iran's next supreme...
