The Daily Chosen by War: The Rise of Iran’s New Supreme Leader
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Mar 17, 2026 
Farnaz Fassihi, a New York Times journalist covering Iran and the U.N., unpacks the secretive rise of Mojtaba Khamenei. She follows the succession battle between clerics, generals, and moderates. The conversation explores how war reshaped the vote, how the Revolutionary Guards pushed continuity, and why many Iranians see a bitter irony in what came next.
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The Supreme Leader Selection Became A Succession War
- Iran’s succession fight resembled a wartime power struggle where clerics, Revolutionary Guards generals, and political factions battled to shape the post-Khamenei regime.
- Moderates wanted a leader signaling reform after protests and war, while hardliners treated continuity and defiance as existential priorities.
War Helped Hardliners Sell Mojtaba As Continuity
- The Revolutionary Guards backed Mojtaba unanimously because they saw him as a reliable extension of his father who would preserve their wartime power.
- Farnaz Fassihi says the killing of Ali Khamenei let hardliners frame hereditary succession as martyrdom and defiance rather than a taboo.
A Sealed Letter Almost Blocked Mojtaba
- Moderates nearly derailed Mojtaba’s rise by presenting testimony and a sealed letter saying Ali Khamenei did not want any family member to succeed him.
- Guards commanders then mounted a virtual counteroffensive, pressured clerics directly, and secured the final two-thirds vote on March 8.