President Donald Trump said last week that Mojtaba Khamenei would be "unacceptable," and Israel has vowed to target any declared successor to Ali Khamenei.

The second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei — the Supreme Leader killed in the opening hours of the US-Israel onslaught on Iran nine days ago — Mojtaba’s ascent comes as the system of rule his father pioneered,

Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS DUBAI/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed ⁠his ⁠father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signaling that hardliners remain ⁠firmly in charge,

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain supreme leader, has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced Monday, as Tehran widened its attacks across the Mideast to strike oil and water facilities crucial to its desert sheikdoms.

Iran named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader and President Donald Trump called $100 oil a “small price to pay,” with neither side showing any sign of deescalating a war now entering its 10th day.

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei served in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s where he developed close ties with the military services and with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mojtaba Khamenei is expected to continue the hardline rule of his father, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes last week.

Mojtaba Khamenei will be Iran's next supreme leader, taking over for his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in air strikes last month.