Mojtaba Khamenei

Rule Changes

Elected March 8, 2026 after father's assassination; reportedly injured in same airstrike; has not appeared publicly—first statement was read on state TV

Diplomatic efforts to constrain Iran's nuclear program collapsed into open war on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran—codenamed Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion—targeting military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes; his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected by the Assembly of Experts as the new Supreme Leader on March 8, but has not appeared publicly since, reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in the same strike that killed his father. Iran retaliated across the region and closed the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of world oil trade flows. A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8, under which Iran agreed to reopen the Strait—though Iran re-closed it on April 18 after the United States refused to lift a naval blockade imposed following failed peace talks.

Updated 4 days ago

Force in Play

Oversaw ceasefire ratification averting US infrastructure attacks

Forty days ago, the United States and Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggered the largest disruption to global oil markets since the 1970s. After over 7,300 deaths and Brent crude spiking above $126 per barrel from Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure, Iran's Supreme National Security Council ratified a two-week ceasefire on April 8 — minutes before President Trump's 8 p.m. deadline to strike Iranian infrastructure. The deal mandates safe passage through the strait with Iranian coordination, halting Operation Epic Fury.

Updated Apr 8

Built World

Backs Hormuz control as leverage; threatens new fronts

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began February 28 with Operation Epic Fury, reached a sudden conclusion on April 8 when the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, with Tehran committing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—closed for 41 days under Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps control. The conflict drove Brent crude above $112 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate above $111 in early April, with the International Energy Agency warning of 12 million barrels per day offline in history's largest oil supply shock. Key triggers included Israel's March 18 strikes on South Pars, U.S. operations in the strait, Yemen's Houthi attacks, and President Trump's expired March 22 ultimatum on Iranian power plants. Japan released reserves on March 16, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration's April 7 outlook reflected prolonged disruption before the surprise de-escalation.

Updated Apr 8

Force in Play

Supreme Leader of Iran (designate); consolidating power amid military collapse and humanitarian crisis; praised Hezbollah for supporting Iran's war effort

Operation Epic Fury, launched jointly by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, reached day 39 with the heaviest strikes yet on Iran, confirming over 9,000 targets hit, more than 130 naval vessels destroyed, and at least 55 senior regime leaders killed—including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on March 1, IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri on March 26, and on April 6, IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi and Quds Force Unit 840 head Yazdan Mir in US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. Key escalations include Iran's March 18 missile strikes on Israel and Gulf states, Qatar's expulsion of Iranian attachés after the March 19 Ras Laffan attack, the Israeli airstrike killing IRGC spokesman General Ali Mohammad Naeini on March 20, CENTCOM's March 21 update confirming 8,000 targets hit and air superiority, Iran's March 24 missile barrages on Tel Aviv, March 27 Israeli strikes on Iran's central naval arms production site and multiple ballistic missile factories in the Tehran area, Iran's April 2 launch of four missile salvos at Israel including cluster warheads, April 3's downing of a US F-15E Strike Eagle—the first American combat aircraft lost—and April 5's successful rescue of both crew members by US special operations forces after a two-day evasion and extraction operation.

Updated Apr 7

Force in Play

Supreme Leader of Iran (2026–present); made first public statement March 12 vowing to maintain Hormuz blockade and avenge martyrs

Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, now in its 39th day, has evolved into a regional energy war, with over 1,000 vessels worth $25 billion still stranded and roughly 11 million barrels per day offline—more than double the combined shortfalls of the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks, per the International Energy Agency's March 23 crisis declaration. Strikes have hit facilities across Qatar (Ras Laffan LNG, 20% of global supply), Kuwait refineries, Saudi Arabia's Samref refinery, and UAE's Habshan gas plant and Bab oil field since March 19, following Israel's initial attack on Iran's South Pars field. Iraq halted 1.5 million bpd, QatarEnergy LNG remains offline, and Saudi Aramco cut output by 20% to 8 million bpd as storage overflows.

Updated Apr 6

Force in Play

Hard-liner installed by the Assembly of Experts; unconfirmed reports of injury in early April

Japan imports over 90% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran shut that strait six weeks ago. Now Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is attempting what her predecessor Shinzo Abe tried and failed to do in 2019: talk Tehran down from the brink, this time with far higher stakes and a ticking clock set by Washington.

Updated Apr 6

Force in Play

In power since March 9, 2026; rumored injured or killed in early April strikes

Since the United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026—killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering what Washington calls Operation Epic Fury—Iran has fired more than 525 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Nearly half carried cluster warheads that scatter dozens of smaller bomblets across wide areas, a weapon type banned by over 100 nations. On April 6, two construction workers were killed in Yehud by cluster submunitions, while a separate ballistic missile collapsed a residential building in Haifa, killing four people after an 18-hour rescue effort.

Updated Apr 6

Force in Play

Leading Iran's war response as newly appointed supreme leader

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times; on April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran, killing at least one security guard and wounding five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated Apr 4

Force in Play

Named Supreme Leader after father's assassination; issued first public address March 12

In thirteen days of US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, up to 3.2 million people have fled their homes without leaving the country. The United Nations refugee agency reported on March 12 that between 600,000 and one million Iranian households abandoned Tehran and other major cities for northern provinces and rural areas, marking one of the fastest mass internal displacements in modern conflict.

Updated Mar 12

Force in Play

Newly installed after father's assassination

Iran became the first non-host nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. A year later, it became the first qualified nation in the modern era to pull out for political reasons. Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali announced on state television that Iran will not participate in the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico—three months after a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and devastated the country's military infrastructure.

Updated Mar 12

Force in Play

Named successor to his father

For more than four decades, US embassies in the Middle East and Africa have faced bombings, sieges, and missile strikes. None has been attacked in Western Europe — until an incendiary device detonated at the entrance of the US Embassy in Oslo at 1:00 a.m. on March 8, shattering windows and sending smoke into the street. No one was injured. Norwegian police say terrorism is one hypothesis under investigation, and they are weighing whether the blast is connected to the eight-day-old US-Iran war.

Updated Mar 8

Force in Play

Selected by Assembly of Experts under IRGC pressure; legitimacy disputed

Iran's Supreme Leader controlled both the presidency and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for over four decades. Eight days after a joint United States-Israeli airstrike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that unified chain of command has visibly fractured: President Masoud Pezeshkian announced a halt to strikes on neighboring countries and personally apologized to Gulf states for hitting their civilian infrastructure, only for the IRGC to strike a U.S. air base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hours later and issue a statement telling the public to 'ignore Pezeshkian's words during the war.'

Updated Mar 8