Despite military setbacks during the war, Tehran is presenting a narrative of victory before negotiations with Washington.

Iran’s new, more militaristic leaders have already survived the worst that America and Israel can deliver, and seem readier to take risks.

Washington and Tehran would need to defend any potential deal as a win for their side. And each has a leader whose approach to talks is vexing mediators.

Decision making in the country is guided by a small group of men associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement that Iran would establish “new legal frameworks” for the Strait of Hormuz. He also said his country would retain its nuclear capabilities.

The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ushered in a new form of collective leadership in the country, with more power for the Revolutionary Guards.

The fighting continued while conditions for a possible cease-fire were debated.

The Israeli military said it had killed the spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Iran warned that it could target American and Israeli military personnel.

The Persian new year and the end of the holy month of Ramadan were marked by continuing strikes in the region as the war reached the end of its third week.

One of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s closest confidants, Mr. Larijani emerged as the face of the government after Mr. Khamenei was killed.

The weeklong fight over Iran’s next leader pitted the Revolutionary Guards against moderates. The generals won, but only over spirited resistance.

As the conflict with Iran expands and intensifies, President Trump’s options — to fight on, or to move toward declaring victory and pulling back — both carry deeply problematic consequences.

Iran’s new supreme leader delivered a forceful message in his first public statement since succeeding his slain father, as the Israeli military bombarded Tehran and the Lebanese capital with strikes.

“We just want to be back in our homes,” said a Lebanese man who, like many others in the latest round of fighting, has to flee.

Officials say Mojtaba Khamenei’s legs were hurt, but the circumstances as well as the extent of his injuries were unclear. He has remained out of view since being announced as leader three days ago.

His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had turned what was traditionally a religious affairs office into a shadowy national security juggernaut.

Many in Iran feel helpless in the face of their entrenched system, and some are becoming increasingly embittered by the fierce American and Israeli bombardment.

Opponents of the government, however, worried the new supreme leader, a son of the recently killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would rule with an iron fist like his father.

Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as his father’s successor. The Pentagon announced the death of a seventh U.S. service member.

Mojtaba Khamenei takes on a role that makes him not only Iran’s spiritual leader but also the highest authority in the land.

The selection of a son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on his compound at the start of the war, could anger Iranians seeking change.

The succession of the slain leader’s son is seen as a signal of the Islamic republic’s defiance of Israel and the United States, and of continuity during crisis.

Iranian state media reported that the country’s top clerics have identified who will replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They have not released his name.

The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran’s leadership and undercut its defense capabilities, but President Trump has offered wildly different explanations for what he hopes to achieve.

With their pervasive military, political and economic clout, the Guards are often considered the main impediment to regime change, or any change, in Iran.

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close confidant of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran was determined to avenge the killing of the leader.

The waves of bombings reveal a broad effort to ravage the country’s leadership and security services.

China is learning lessons from the war in Iran. Chief among them, the United States may pose an even greater threat than Beijing thought.

If Mojtaba Khamenei is chosen by Iran’s senior clerics, it may signal a victory for hard-liners, an analyst said.

Soccer’s global governing body is grappling with a World Cup first: a tournament host going to war with a participating nation.

The Islamic Republic is aiming to draw out the conflict and broaden the fighting. That would force President Trump to risk more casualties and more political capital.

Beijing has condemned the U.S.-backed strikes on Iran, a close partner. Yet with trade talks looming, it is unlikely to risk a rupture with Washington.