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Mojtaba Khamenei: The Rise of Iran’s New Supreme Leader

                      A picture of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is displayed on a screen in Tehran Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as Iran’s new supreme leader following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes. His appointment by the Assembly of Experts comes at a moment of profound crisis for Iran, as the country faces regional war, internal instability, and intense international scrutiny.  A Secretive Heir With Deep Establishment Ties Mojtaba, long considered influential behind the scenes, is a mid-ranking cleric with strong connections to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). His political rise signals continuity of Iran’s hardline establishment, despite the country’s ideological discomfort with hereditary succession.  A Leader Shaped by Conflict and Loss His ascension comes amid the “Ramadan War,” during which he was reportedly wound...

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Wall Street Seeks First Gains of 2024 in Modest Pre-Market Trading

 

Wall Street is seeking its first gains of 2024, with the benchmark S&P 500 index ticking modestly higher in premarket trading on Thursday. The index has fallen in four of the past five sessions, as investors have grown increasingly cautious about the U.S. central bank’s expected pivot to rate cuts this year and how quickly these might be implemented. While the Fed is widely expected to keep rates on hold in January, traders have priced in a 67% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in March, as per CMEGroup’s FedWatch tool. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 53.56 points, or 0.3%, at 20,818.58 on Wednesday.

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