Large rallies in Tehran pledge allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader

Описание: (9 Mar 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: NO USE BY BBC PERSIAN, VOA PERSIAN, MANOTO TV, IRAN INTERNATIONAL

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ASSOCIATED PRESS - NO USE BY BBC PERSIAN, VOA PERSIAN, MANOTO TV, IRAN INTERNATIONAL
Tehran, Iran - 9 March 2026
1. Crowds chanting (Arabic) "God is the greatest"
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
2. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Assad Assadi, Tehran resident:
"Today we are here to pledge to Grand Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei that we will sacrifice our blood to the leadership. We also want to tell the criminal America not to interfere in the affairs of Iran and the region."
3. Crowds gathering at Tehran's Enghelab (Revolution) square to pledge allegiance to the new supreme leader
4. Various of rally
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
5. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Abbas Ali Saeedipoor, Tehran resident:
"America and Israel: you've failed and you will drown in the swamp you are stuck in. We are proud of the leader of the Muslim world grand Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei."
6. Various of crowd
7. Various of people holding pictures of Khamenei
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
8. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Bagheri (first name not given for privacy reasons), Tehran resident:
"My martyred leader wouldn't even mention the damned (Donald) Trump by name, because he is not worthy of being mentioned by name. He is such a liar that the whole world knows about his lies and empty threats. These people, by gathering here and pledging allegiance to the noble son of our martyred leader, are saying the same thing -- they do not fear threats by this person and their allies at all."
9. Various of rally
STORYLINE:
Pro-government supporters held gatherings across Iran on Monday to pledge allegiance to the new supreme leader.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, was announced as the Islamic Republic’s next ruler on Monday, as Tehran widened its attacks across the Mideast to strike oil and water facilities crucial to its desert sheikdoms.

With Iran’s theocracy under assault by the U.S. and Israel for more than a week, the country’s Assembly of Experts chose as the next supreme leader a secretive, 56-year-old cleric who maintains close ties to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

The Guard has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since the younger Khamenei’s father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed Feb. 28 during the war’s opening salvo.

The war has shaken global energy markets, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel and leading to tighter supplies of natural gas after Qatar turned off its production.

The younger Khamenei, who had not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, had long been considered a contender for the post. That was even before the Israeli strike killed his father, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.

AP video shot by Saeed Sarmadi

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