Iran's IRGC pledges allegiance to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

The Iranian regular armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have pledged allegiance to the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s state media reported.

In a statement issued immediately after the election of the new leader, the IRGC said it is “fully ready to obey orders from Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei and protect the values of the Islamic Revolution,” according to Tasnim News Agency.

Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second son of Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic for 36 years and was killed on February 28 in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.

The election was made by a vote of the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 Islamic clerics tasked with choosing the new supreme leader.