Mojtaba Khamenei, widely viewed as a leading candidate to succeed Iran’s late supreme leader, was reportedly injured during an Israeli airstrike carried out as part of the large-scale military campaign against Iran.
According to a report Saturday by The Times of Israel, the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei survived an assassination attempt during the opening phase of Israel’s Operation Lion’s Roar on February 28, which coincided with the United States’ Operation Epic Fury.
The broader wave of strikes during the joint operation killed his father along with roughly 40 other senior officials in the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
Among those killed in the attack was Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a prominent family closely tied to Iran’s ruling religious establishment.
It remains unclear whether Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was inside his father’s compound when it was struck by Israeli airstrikes or whether he was targeted separately in another strike against regime leadership.
Reports have also not clarified the severity of the injuries he sustained.
Following the attack, Mojtaba is believed to have gone into hiding as Israel and the United States continue launching strikes against targets linked to the Iranian regime.
Within Iran’s power structure, Mojtaba has long been viewed as the preferred candidate of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to replace his father. However, some members of the 88-member Assembly of Experts—the body responsible for selecting the next supreme leader—have reportedly expressed reservations about transferring the country’s leadership to the late ayatollah’s son.
Mojtaba Khamenei has been known for strongly embracing the same hardline conservative ideology and anti-Western outlook that defined his father’s leadership of the Islamic Republic.
President Donald Trump criticized the possibility of Mojtaba taking power, saying such a move would be unacceptable to the United States and would not resolve the ongoing conflict.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight,” Trump said this week.
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”
According to reports, the Assembly of Experts may convene within the next 24 hours to discuss and potentially select the country’s next supreme leader.
Because the Assembly’s usual meeting location was destroyed in Israeli airstrikes earlier this week, the leadership vote is expected to be conducted remotely.
Whoever ultimately assumes the position will gain authority over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful military force that has played a dominant role in governing the country for decades.
{Matzav.com}
Biden Draws Attention With Remark During Jesse Jackson Memorial Service
Joe Biden drew notice Friday during a memorial service for Rev. Jesse Jackson when he made a pointed remark while reflecting on his childhood experiences with a speech impediment.
The comment came as Biden spoke to mourners about being mocked as a young person for his stutter and how speech disorders are often misunderstood as a sign of lower intelligence.
“If I told you I had a cleft palate or clubfoot, none of you would have laughed,” Biden said.
“But it’s OK to laugh at stuttering. … It’s the one place where people think you’re stupid.
“Oh, really? I’m ….. a lot smarter than most of you,” he added, before quickly pivoting back to his broader point.
“But all kidding aside, it makes you feel really small.”
Biden delivered the remarks during a memorial gathering in Chicago attended by many prominent Democratic political figures and civil rights leaders who came to honor Jackson’s decades of activism and influence.
Among those present were former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Rev. Al Sharpton.
The service took place at the 10,000-seat House of Hope arena, where hundreds of attendees assembled to commemorate Jackson’s life and contributions.
Jackson, who passed away at the age of 84, first gained national recognition as a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement.
He later established the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and ran two campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, efforts that helped expand Black voter participation and reshape the Democratic Party’s political coalition.
Speakers throughout the memorial highlighted Jackson’s talent for forging alliances across political lines and bringing attention to the concerns of marginalized communities.
During his remarks, Biden also revisited his personal experiences with overcoming a stutter, using the story to speak about resilience and the emotional toll of being ridiculed as a child.
At another point in his speech, Biden spoke about Africa’s future population growth while recalling a past conversation involving Jackson.
“I remember telling Jesse that I knew I knew a guy, in South Africa,” former President Biden recalled.
“I was going to go see name is Nelson Mandela. And, I’m Jesse saying, how are you going? You guys actually see him, by the way? You know, the continent of Africa is going to be the largest continent in the world in terms of population of the year 2050, the largest in the entire world. Watch, man. Watch.”
The line in which Biden said he was “a lot smarter than most of you” quickly spread online and was added by critics to a list of remarks that have drawn attention on social media.
Under one repost of the viral moment from user Libs of TikTok, one commenter wrote, “That’s a strange line to deliver at a memorial service.”
Another quipped, “Never ending comedy from this guy. So happy he’s back in public.”
Aside from Biden’s remarks, the event largely centered on remembering Jackson’s long career as a civil rights leader and his role in shaping the modern Democratic Party while encouraging broader political participation across the United States.
{Matzav.com}Microsoft warned Friday that North Korean operatives are increasingly using artificial intelligence tools to pose as Western job applicants and obtain remote technology positions, allowing them to funnel salaries and access to corporate systems back to Pyongyang.
According to the company, the operation relies on fabricated or stolen identities that are used to apply for software development and IT positions at companies in Western countries.
Microsoft said the individuals involved rely on AI-generated images to create professional headshots, develop believable Western-sounding names and email addresses, and customize job applications to match specific postings. During job interviews, the company reported that some applicants employ voice-modification technology to disguise their accents.
The company also said the operatives continue using artificial intelligence after being hired, relying on it to draft emails, translate documents, and produce code while attempting to avoid suspicion. One network of North Korean operatives tracked by Microsoft under the name Jasper Sleet, the company said, “leverages AI across the attack lifecycle to get hired, stay hired, and misuse access at scale.”
Officials say the scheme is significant because it has evolved from simple payroll fraud into a broader security concern for companies.
U.S. authorities have previously said North Korean remote IT worker operations depend on stolen or falsified identities, facilitators located in the United States, and so-called laptop farms that allow workers located overseas to appear as though they are operating computers inside the United States.
In June 2025, the Justice Department said the schemes had infiltrated more than 100 American companies. The FBI has also warned that in some cases the workers have taken sensitive corporate data or attempted to extort companies using the information.
Microsoft said it shut down roughly 3,000 Outlook and Hotmail accounts last year that were connected to fraudulent North Korean IT worker operations.
The company advised employers to take additional precautions during hiring, including conducting interviews via video or in person and watching for potential signs of manipulated images such as irregularities around faces, eyes, ears, or glasses.
Federal investigators have issued similar recommendations, urging companies to strengthen identity verification procedures, closely examine employment histories, and carefully review remote hiring practices.
Upwork, one of the online job platforms mentioned as a site where software and IT roles are often posted, said it actively works to identify and remove fraudulent users from its marketplace.
{Matzav.com}
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday that gasoline prices could begin declining within a matter of weeks despite a recent surge tied to the escalating conflict with Iran, arguing that the disruption affecting global oil markets will likely prove temporary.
Speaking in an interview, Wright blamed Iran’s leadership for decades of volatility in energy markets. “Look, Iran’s been an escalator of energy prices [for] 47 years, the whole history of their regime,” Wright said.
He added that the current turmoil reflects a short-term disruption tied to efforts to stop Tehran’s actions in the region. “We got a little bit of an interruption right now to finally put an end to their ability to wreak havoc, to kill Americans, and to terrorize their neighbors.”
Wright’s comments came as global energy markets reacted to a sharp rise in oil and gasoline prices following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets and Iran’s efforts to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strategic waterway is considered one of the most critical oil transit routes in the world.
The narrow passage links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and typically carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids supply.
Because of its importance, any threat to vessels moving through the strait raises immediate concerns in global markets and among American drivers monitoring fuel prices.
According to AAA, the national average cost of regular gasoline reached $3.32 per gallon on Friday, compared with $2.98 just one week earlier, as crude oil prices climbed and traders assessed the possibility of extended supply disruptions.
Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, cautioned that prolonged interference with shipping could significantly worsen the situation.
“That means millions of barrels of oil that would normally flow to global markets simply aren’t reaching buyers,” De Haan said.
“Every additional day [of] the disruption continues compounds the problem. Even if the Strait reopened immediately, the market would still face the challenge of catching up on days’ worth of missing shipments — an increasingly difficult task as the backlog grows.”
Market analysts have warned that if the Strait of Hormuz were to remain closed or severely restricted for an extended period, oil prices could rise substantially, increasing inflationary pressures and potentially creating political challenges in Washington after several months during which fuel costs had remained below levels seen throughout much of 2024 and early 2025.
President Donald Trump, who emphasized reducing energy costs during his 2024 campaign, dismissed concerns Thursday about a long-term increase in gasoline prices.
“I don’t have any concern about it,” Trump told Reuters.
“They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”
Administration officials have said that military and naval actions currently underway are intended in part to stabilize energy markets, though investors are closely watching how long the conflict continues and whether commercial shipping can safely move through the Gulf.
Wright expressed confidence that markets will rebalance more quickly than many consumers expect.
He said the period before prices begin to decline will likely be measured in weeks rather than months.
For American drivers, however, the direction of gasoline prices will likely depend less on domestic demand and more on developments in the Middle East.
Shipping routes, refinery output, and oil export flows are expected to determine fuel price movements from day to day.
{Matzav.com}
Two shuls in Toronto, Canada, were struck by gunfire overnight in separate incidents that are now under investigation by local authorities.
The buildings hit were identified as the BAYT and Shaarei Shomayim shuls.
Police in Toronto and the neighboring York Region reported on social media that shots were fired at the two houses of worship around midnight. Authorities said that while bullets struck the buildings, no one was injured in either incident.
In a message posted on X, Toronto police acknowledged the fear such attacks create within the community. “We recognize that incidents like this are deeply concerning for members of the Jewish community. Synagogues in both Toronto and York region have been struck by gunfire this week,” the department said, noting that additional police presence has been deployed in Jewish neighborhoods throughout the area.
Jewish communities across Canada have experienced a sharp rise in antisemitic attacks in recent years. Incidents have included shootings and firebombings targeting Jewish institutions and community buildings.
Another shooting incident occurred earlier in the week when a shul was targeted on Tuesday. The attack took place shortly after the building had hosted Purim celebrations, with some individuals still present inside at the time.
Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilevre reacted strongly to the latest incidents, saying he was “appalled” by the Friday night shootings at the Shaarei Shomayim and Beth Avraham Yoseph shuls and warning that the Jewish community “is under attack in Canada.”
According to CBC, police had already stepped up patrols and increased their presence across the greater Toronto area earlier this week due to heightened tensions connected to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
{Matzav.com}
