TEHRAN - Iran fired missiles at Israel early on Monday in the name of the Islamic republic's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was selected to succeed his slain father despite threats by the United States and Israel to target him next.
Nine days after US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Shiite clerics convened to choose the country's third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
An announcer on state television solemnly read a statement from the 88-member Assembly of Experts next to a picture of the new 56-year-old leader, who bears a striking resemblance to his father.
Mojtaba Khamenei "is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts", the statement said.
It said the clerical body "did not hesitate for a minute" in choosing a new leader despite "the brutal aggression of the criminal America and the evil Zionist regime".
State media soon afterwards showed a projectile said to be launched at Israel bearing the slogan, "At Your Command, Sayyid Mojtaba", using an Islamic honorific.
Explosions were also heard early Monday in Qatar, home to a major US air base.
The war came weeks after Iranian security forces crushed nationwide protests against the government, killing thousands. The younger Khamenei is considered a fellow hardliner who will pursue his father's rejection of dissent.
US President Donald Trump had previously dismissed the younger Khamenei as a "lightweight", and insisted again Sunday that he should have a say in appointing a new leader.
"If he doesn't get approval from us he's not going to last long," he told ABC News before the announcement was made.
Israel's military had also warned any successor that "we will not hesitate to target you".