PRESS REVIEW – Monday, March 9: The new Supreme Leader embodies both continuity with his father’s hard-line rule and a departure from what was intended to be a non-hereditary system of governance. In other news, Greenpeace has warned of “rogue companies trying to sidestep international law” in the deep seas, while the BBC has published photos from a recent expedition to the Caribbean’s deep waters. Also, a Viking-inspired sport enjoyed a moment of fame in England.

Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar ran the headline "The Legitimacy of Blood", after Ali Khamenei's son was appointed to succeed him. While the pro-Hezbollah paper cited the bloodline as a source of legitimacy, L’Orient le Jour criticised what it called a “return to dynastic succession” 40 years after the Iranian revolution. Iran International described the new Supreme Leader as a "shadow prince", who has operated largely out of public view but close to power for decades, playing a key role in suppressing protests in 2009 and 2022, and influencing appointments of senior figures in the Revolutionary Guard. The Times characterised the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as a challenge to Donald Trump, noting that Ali Khamenei had previously said his successor should be “hated by the enemy”.

At sea, Greenpeace believe they have evidence that subsidiaries of US company TMC may be in breach of its obligations to the International Seabed Authority. Meanwhile, the BBC brings good news from the deep seas: a recent expedition in the Caribbean, exploring depths of up to six kilometres, has revealed a healthy ecosystem, largely untouched by human activity, with specimens straight out of science fiction.

And finally, in Surrey, The Times reports on the little-known, Viking-inspired “wife-carrying” championships held over the weekend, in which duos compete with one partner carrying the other over a 380-metre course. Unsurprisingly, the winners were a Finnish couple, who took home a barrel of ale.