October Surprise 2016 - octobersurprise2016.org🔊 Iran’s clerical leadership has chosen confrontation over compromise in appointing hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei, the late Ayatollah’s son, as the new supreme leader. Plus, oil prices surge.
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UAE leads Gulf bourses lower; oil leaps on Iran war https://t.co/zV2WYLjXe4 https://t.co/zV2WYLjXe4
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2026
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🇷🇺🍾🇮🇷𝗞𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗿𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿
𝘼 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.Kremlin-linked proxy channels are celebrating Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, framing the son of the assassinated Ali Khamenei as a guaranteed hardliner who will keep Tehran locked in Moscow’s orbit.
The messaging is unambiguous. Mojtaba is portrayed as more uncompromising than his father, less likely to bend under U.S. or Israeli pressure, and more committed to the so-called axis of resistance.
Pro-Kremlin channels point to his IRGC ties, shadowy influence network, and family losses in the war as proof that he will double down on anti-Western defiance rather than seek de-escalation. Analysts have long noted his close connections to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has pledged loyalty to him amid the crisis.
Putin personally congratulated Mojtaba, stating that he will “continue his father’s work and unite the Iranian people,” signaling continued Russian backing even as the U.S.–Israeli campaign against Iranian targets continues.
For Moscow, the calculus is straightforward. A hereditary hardliner signals continuity across arms deals, drone supply chains, and anti-NATO alignment even as Tehran absorbs existential pressure.
The stark reality is that while Moscow is celebrating the resurrection of an ally, it may instead be inheriting a very needy dependent.
Iran’s military-industrial base, economy, and conventional forces are being systematically dismantled under constant U.S. and Israeli strikes.
At the same time, Russia remains fully committed to sustaining its own war in Ukraine, a conflict that continues to consume large quantities of equipment, manpower, and financial resources.
If the trajectories continue, any near-future Russia–Iran partnership will resemble less an alliance than a subsidy program.
Prior to the current Gulf conflict, Iran armed Russia for years with the drones, artillery, missiles, and assistance in sanctions evasion that helped sustain Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The resulting irony is unavoidable.
Tehran may soon go to Moscow for help, only to find that Russia’s war in Ukraine has left the cupboard bare.
Image: Al Jazeera
— OSINT Intuit™ (@UKikaski) Mar 9, 2026
🇮🇹 Meloni’s government has advanced legislation that would authorize the use of the Italian Navy to impose a “naval blockade” to prevent migrant boats from entering Italian waters.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) Mar 9, 2026
🇺🇸🇿🇦 The U.S. aims to process 4,500 refugee applications per month from White South Africans, according to a previously unreported document from the U.S. State Department.
Do you support the U.S. prioritizing White refugees from South Africa?
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) Mar 9, 2026
Mass brawl mars Cruzeiro’s win over Atletico Mineiro reut.rs/4ukhaL1 reut.rs/4ukhaL1
— Reuters (@Reuters) Mar 9, 2026