ISTANBUL 

Arab and regional leaders congratulated Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday on his selection as Iran’s new supreme leader.

Mojtaba Khamenei was declared successor of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike last week.

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq sent a cable of congratulations to Mojtaba, expressing his best wishes to the new leader in assuming his responsibilities, according to the state news agency ONA.

The Omani ruler became the first Arab leader to congratulate him on his new post.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani issued a statement expressing confidence in Iran’s new leadership “to manage this sensitive stage and strengthen the unity of the Iranian people in facing current challenges.”

Sudani also reaffirmed Iraq’s solidarity with Iran and support for “all steps aimed at ending the conflict and rejecting military operations against its sovereignty,” stressing the importance of preserving regional stability and the security of its peoples.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev congratulated Mojtaba Khamenei and extended condolences over the death of his father.

“Once again I express my condolences to you in connection with the tragic death of your father, the Supreme Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” Aliyev said in a statement published on the presidential website.

He also expressed hope for developing relations between the two countries “in the field of mutual respect and trust in the interests of our peoples.”

More than 1,200 people have been killed and over 10,000 others injured in US and Israeli attacks on Iran since Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.