Hours after slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was chosen to succeed his father, Iranian state media lit up with rarely seen footage of the new supreme leader during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
In one scene, a teenage Mojtaba walks among fellow volunteer fighters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, dressed in khaki military uniform with his head wrapped in a red band bearing a Shia slogan. In another, he sits among combatants, quietly clearing the barrel of his rifle.
At a time when the Islamic republic is once again fighting for its survival, the footage sent a clear message about the martial environment and life-long ties to the elite Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s most powerful institution, that have shaped the rise of the country’s new ultimate decision maker.