The Lebanese militant group declares support for the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran's Assembly of Experts appoints him Supreme Leader during a wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes.
In a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has formally pledged its allegiance to Iran's newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. The pledge comes just days after the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and as the region reels from intense military exchanges between Iran and Israeli-U.S. forces .
Iran's Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of clerics, announced on Sunday that it had selected Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's third supreme leader. The appointment follows the death of his father, who was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28 . The assembly confirmed the decision citing "the decisive vote of the respected representatives," solidifying a leadership transition at a moment of extreme national crisis .
Almost immediately after the announcement, Hezbollah released a statement congratulating the new leader and renewing what it called its "covenant" with the Islamic Republic. "The movement renews its covenant with the principles of the leaders of the Islamic Revolution and pledges allegiance to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei," the statement read, as reported by Iranian state-linked media . Hezbollah fighters declared they are now "under the command of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei" and vowed to resist until "the last drop of blood" . Other regional groups, including Yemen's Ansarullah (Houthi) movement and Iraq's Kata'ib Hezbollah, also issued statements of congratulations, signaling a united front among Tehran's allies .
The leadership change is unfolding against the backdrop of a widening war. In the days leading up to the appointment, the conflict intensified dramatically. The U.S. and Israel have launched widespread strikes inside Iran, targeting military infrastructure, missile production facilities, and leadership positions . U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that American forces had destroyed dozens of Iranian navy ships and crippled the country's communications . Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which immediately pledged its own allegiance to the new leader, has launched multiple waves of retaliatory missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and what it claims are U.S. assets in Gulf nations like Bahrain and the UAE .
The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old cleric who has long been considered a behind-the-scenes power broker with close ties to the IRGC, has drawn sharp threats from Western powers . Even before the formal announcement, Israel's leadership suggested that any new Iranian leader would be a "target for elimination" . President Trump reiterated that Iran's new leader "is not going to last long" without U.S. approval, vowing to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon . Experts suggest that Mojtaba, who lost several family members in the initial strikes that killed his father, is likely to adopt an even harder line against the West than his predecessor .
On the ground, the violence shows no sign of abating. Israeli forces launched wide-scale strikes on Tehran, Isfahan, and southern Iran shortly after the new supreme leader was appointed, while thousands of supporters gathered in Tehran's Enghelab Square waving flags and chanting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans . The conflict has also drawn in neighboring states, with Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE reporting damage from Iranian strikes and calling for de-escalation .
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Hezbollah has pledged allegiance to Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, following his appointment by the Assembly of Experts amidst an ongoing war with Israel. The pledge, echoed by other regional militant groups, signals the cohesion of Tehran's alliances as the conflict with U.S. and Israeli forces intensifies across the Middle East. The leadership transition occurs during a wave of retaliatory strikes and heightened threats from Western nations.
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