US-sanctioned Mojtaba Khamenei named Iran’s next supreme leader after father’s death: reports
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to Iranian state television.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei and was born in Mashhad in 1969.
His early childhood coincided with his father’s rise as a revolutionary figurehead opposing the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Ali Khamenei moved from a dissident cleric to a senior government official, holding key posts in the regime including deputy defense minister.
The family moved from Mashhad to Tehran, where Mojtaba attended Alavi High School, which is a school that is known for educating members of Iran’s political and religious elite.
There, he received a general and religious education and graduated in 1987. In 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei was appointed supreme leader.
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That same year, Mojtaba began his formal clerical studies in Tehran. He studied under his father as well as Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who later served as Iran’s chief justice.
Over the years, Mojtaba was seen constantly with his father and was also regarded as an influential figure behind the scenes.
In an Axios interview last week, when asked about reports suggesting Mojtaba Khamenei was the new supreme leader, President Donald Trump said, “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran.” Trump also said “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela.”
In 2019, the U.S. sanctioned Mojtaba Khamenei under Executive Order 13867. The U.S. Treasury Department stated that he had been “representing the supreme leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father.”
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The Treasury also said that the supreme leader had delegated part of his leadership responsibilities to Mojtaba.
It said he worked closely with commanders of the IRGC’s Quds Force and the Basij Resistance Force, positioning him as a key player in both domestic and international security affairs.
Mojtaba is married to the daughter of former Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel.
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Among Ali Khamenei’s sons, he is considered the most powerful and politically influential, according to reports.
Waltz shuts down NBC anchor, arguing Trump is ending a war Iran started with the US in 1979
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz argued to Kristen Welker on Sunday that President Donald Trump has not started a war with Iran, but that he is merely finishing it.
Waltz was asked during NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether the US is indeed at war with Iran, suggesting the conflict actually began in 1979 under then-President Jimmy Carter.
Waltz had formerly been a national security advisor to the Trump administration, but was removed from the role on May 1, 2025, after reportedly coordinating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind the president’s back on possible military options for Iran while Trump was still pursuing peaceful negotiation, followed by the SignalGate controversy.
Welker shared clips of Trump referring to his current military actions in Iran as a “war” and reiterated her question, noting, “As you know, words matter. Does that front administration, do you, describe this as a war against Iran?”
“Well, I describe it as Iran has been at war with us, as I just said,” Waltz replied.
He continued, arguing Trump is not starting a war, but “ending it.”
“President Trump is ending it,” he replied. “I will leave it to the lawyers and those who deal with Congress in terms of the War Powers act, which every administration has viewed as unconstitutional. That said, Secretary Rubio has been there day after day and week after week in the recent months, to appropriately brief congressional leaders.”
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He went on to pivot the conversation, saying, “I’ll tell you, you know, who does believe that they are being attacked. It is the soldiers that have been buried for many, many years as a result of Iranian attacks and the proxy attacks, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others in Beirut in 1983 and Iraq, through those years, over 600 American soldiers, so, I mean, we need to take a step back and look at how many billions, how much time, how much treasure that administration after administration has spent dealing with this.”
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“President Trump put diplomacy first, both last year and this year. It was clear the Iranians were not negotiating in good faith, had no intention of backing away from its nuclear intentions,” he claimed. “We are trying to protect it with a massive phalanx and shield of ballistic missiles that they were quadrupling their production of on a month-by-month basis, and finally President Trump said enough is enough.”
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Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Fresh satellite images give a rare aerial view of the damage across Iran after U.S.-Israeli strikes and what Tehran’s retaliation left behind across the region.
Planet Labs satellite imagery captured burning ships and damaged facilities at the Konarak base in southern Iran, as well as significant destruction at Iran’s naval headquarters in Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf, reflecting the scale of the strikes on military infrastructure.
Imagery from Vantor shows damage to facilities and vessels located in Iran’s Bushehr port in the Persian Gulf.
In addition to naval assets, satellite photos show a bunker at Bushehr air base hit by a strike, leaving a large crater and destroying several nearby small buildings.
More strikes targeted the Choqa Balk drone facility in western Iran.
Radar systems at the Zahedan air base in eastern Iran — near the country’s borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan — were also struck.
The two facilities are about 800 to 900 miles apart, underscoring the broad reach of the coordinated strikes.
Satellite imagery also reveals damage to aircraft on the tarmac at Shiraz air base, including scorch marks and debris around several parking areas.
Satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows thick smoke plumes rising above Tehran, signaling explosions and fires inside the Iranian capital.
The smoke underscores how the conflict has moved beyond isolated military sites and into the heart of Iran’s political center.
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Iran has since responded with missile and drone strikes of its own, expanding the conflict across the region.
Satellite images reveal damage to the port city of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Sharjah is the third most populous after Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
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The Jebel Ali Port, the region’s largest maritime hub, was also targeted, underscoring how the retaliation extended beyond military sites to key infrastructure.
The new satellite imagery comes on the heels of U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several top members of the regime, triggering a succession crisis.
President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that Iran’s new leader is “not going to last long” without U.S. approval as Operation Epic Fury marches into a third week.
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
The new battleground in the Gulf isn’t just on the water — it’s in the insurance market, where war-risk coverage can determine which oil tankers sail and which stay put.
With the conflict driving gasoline prices higher, the White House is weighing steps to keep oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz and to keep prices from climbing further.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman, carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and about one-fifth of global supply of liquefied natural gas. When conflict flares in the region, even the threat of disruption can rattle markets because so much of the world’s energy moves through that single corridor.
And with so much at stake, the White House is turning to an unlikely tool: insurance.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. could use a government-backed insurance program to lower war-risk premiums for vessels in the region. Under a backstop, the government would absorb part of any major losses, easing pressure on private insurers and shipowners.
Because when danger rises, the bill rises.
Insurers charge more to cover ships and cargo, shippers add “war-risk” surcharges and some vessels slow down, detour or pause altogether. Those delays can tighten supply and push crude prices higher even if oil production hasn’t changed.
Against that backdrop, the latest disruption, sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes starting on Feb. 27 and retaliatory Iranian drone and missile attacks across the region, is forcing shippers and insurers to rethink whether it’s safe to transit the waterway.
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Some global insurers are already tightening terms. Maritime insurance titans Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, the London P&I Club and the American Club, have already canceled war-risk coverage, leaving voyages through Iranian and nearby waters without insurance.
Not all coverage is disappearing though. Lloyd’s of London, an insurance marketplace that brings together multiple insurers to cover large, high-risk voyages, said its vessels operating in the Gulf region have a combined hull value exceeding $25 billion. It added that coverage is still in place.
A Lloyd’s spokesperson told Reuters the market is in talks with U.S. officials about possible options. Separately, global insurance broker Marsh said it met with Trump administration representatives to discuss the idea.
Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, said coverage is a baseline requirement for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk.
“It’s essential for all of these tankers to have insurance. You simply cannot pass through the Strait of Hormuz if you don’t have the insurance, given the high possibility of getting struck by a missile,” Smith told Fox News Digital.
“But even with that insurance in place, it’s little comfort for those on the ship if there’s a chance the vessel is going to be attacked,” he added.
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With that calculus in mind, Maersk, widely regarded as a bellwether for global ocean freight, said it will suspend all vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz until further notice and warned service to Arabian Gulf ports could be delayed.
When big shippers hit the brakes, the ripple effects can be felt fast. If oil becomes more expensive or slower to reach buyers, those increases can move through the supply chain and show up for Americans at the pump.
How much Americans feel at the pump will depend on how long the disruption lasts and whether shipping and insurance markets stabilize. Until then, the world’s most important energy chokepoint is likely to keep traders and drivers on edge.
CENTCOM issues safety warning to Iranian civilians as regime uses ‘heavily populated’ areas for launches
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday issued a safety warning to civilians in Iran, accusing the regime of launching military operations from densely populated areas and putting civilian lives at risk.
CENTCOM said Iranian forces are using “heavily populated” cities, including Dezful, Isfahan and Shiraz, to launch one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. U.S. forces urged civilians in Iran to remain at home, warning that locations used for military purposes could lose protected status under international law and become legitimate targets.
“Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces take “every feasible precaution” to minimize civilian harm but cannot guarantee safety near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes.
CENTCOM’s announcement said Tehran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones since the start of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, though launch rates have declined as U.S. and partner forces have targeted Iran’s military capabilities.
Iran has targeted civilian airports and hotels across the Middle East as part of retaliatory attacks against several Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
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The UAE’s Ministry of Defense on Sunday released footage of its air defenses intercepting and destroying Iranian drones.
The ministry said 17 ballistic missiles were detected, with 16 destroyed and one falling into the sea.
Air defenses also detected 117 drones, intercepting 113 of them while four fell within the country’s territory.
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Since the start of Iran’s attacks, the UAE says it has intercepted 221 ballistic missiles and 1,342 drones, along with eight cruise missiles.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed on X that Iran has not attacked “friendly and neighboring countries,” saying its strikes have been aimed at U.S. military bases and installations in the region.
Iran-born winemaker ‘thrilled’ to be in US after fleeing country where alcohol is outlawed
FIRST ON FOX — As scrutiny of Iran’s leadership intensifies amid renewed attention, an Iranian-born Oregon winemaker told Fox News Digital his homeland “could progress” if the regime falls.
Moe Momtazi, founder of Maysara Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, fled Iran in 1982. Today, as an American citizen, he runs one of the world’s top-ranked vineyards.
Alcohol is banned in modern Iran under Islamic law, but Momtazi has built a globally recognized wine business in the United States.
Maysara Winery means “house of wine” in Farsi. It currently ranks No. 23 worldwide.
“If this regime is gone, we could progress and be the pride of the Middle East,” said Momtazi, 74.
Iran’s restrictions on alcohol date back to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, when religious authorities outlawed production and sale for most citizens.
“In Persian culture, wine has been and still is a very key component of society,” Momtazi said.
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He, his wife and their three daughters see the family business as a continuation of that legacy, thousands of miles from their ancestral homeland.
Momtazi’s 98-year-old mother still lives in Tehran, as do two of his brothers.
His middle daughter, Naseem Momtazi Bachinsky, told Fox News Digital she’s communicated with her mother’s relatives in Iran — and they’re all safe.
Momtazi left Iran with his wife, Flora, who was eight months pregnant at the time with their oldest daughter, in 1982. Tahmiene Momtazi was born later that year in Spain.
“We had a really hard journey to get to the United States, but I’m really thrilled and happy that we did leave from there because, even then, life was unbearable for us,” he recalled.
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It would be more than two decades before he returned to visit family.
Despite the distance, the Momtazi family’s success in America is something their relatives back home celebrate.
“They’re very proud of us, which makes me proud that they’re proud of what we’re doing and what we’ve created,” said Momtazi Bachinsky, who is also president of sales.
Wine, they pointed out, is part of a cultural heritage that stretches back thousands of years — one that predates modern political divides. Persian poets wrote about wine as a symbol of joy, reflection and even spiritual connection, Momtazi said.
For the Momtazi family, producing wine in America is both an expression of gratitude and a nod to history.
“We’re just really lucky and thrilled to be in this country.”
“The United States is not second to any other country, and we’re just really lucky and thrilled to be in this country,” Momtazi said.
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Momtazi Bachinsky, who was born in the U.S., said her parents raised her with a simple principle.
“Add value to where you are and who you are,” she said.
That mindset shaped the winery — and their outlook on Iran’s future.
“I want freedom … for the people to be able to make their own choices and to be able to do what they want,” Momtazi Bachinsky said.
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She remembers first visiting Iran and being upset that she was forced to wear a hijab while she was there.
“I want women and girls to be able to make that choice without a fear,” she said.
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She’s also hopeful that Iran will become a country that is welcoming to all religions.
“I’m personally not Islamic. I don’t have ties to the religion, but it’s not the religion that [is] making people bad,” she said.
“There are certain leaders [who] are using the religious aspect as a power mechanism. And that is what has been bad for the root of that country.”
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Noted Moe Momtazi about what’s happened in Iran amid Operation Epic Fury, “I couldn’t be happier that the head guy has been put out, because finally somebody had the guts to interfere. … We’ve gone through so many things over 40-some years.”
As Maysara Winery celebrates American opportunity, the Momtazi family said it hopes the Iranian people can soon raise a glass in the name of freedom.