Iran’s next supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has survived the US-Israelย attacks in which his father was killed on Saturday morning, Reuters reported citing two Iranian sources. Sources told Reuters that Mojtaba was not in Tehran when โthe โ Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiย was killed.ย
Mojtaba was earlier appointed as Iran’s new Supreme Leader by the country’s Assembly of Experts, ending days of intense speculation over the succession. The decision follows the killing of his father, Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, marking a rare and historic leadership transition in the Islamic Republic.ย US-Israel-Iran war LIVE: Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s next supreme leader survives attacks, says reportย
“The Assembly of Experts elected Ali Khameneiโs son Mojtaba as the next Supreme Leader,” Iran International reported, citing informed sources. The report, citing sources, also said that Mojtaba was elected under pressure from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).ย
Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989, was the Middle East’s longest-serving head of state, and his death marks only the second leadership change since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The supreme leader wields ultimate authority over Iran’s key decisions, including war, peace, and the country’s controversial nuclear programme. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement.
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?
The 56-year-old, Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s eldest son, is a mid-ranking Shiite cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, though he has never held elected or formal government office.ย
Despite lacking senior clerical rank or an official post, he is widely believed to wield significant behind-the-scenes influence within the system.
Mojtaba served in the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq War and was among the Khamenei family members who survived the recent attacks, which killed several of the former supreme leader’s close relatives.ย
In 2019, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him, saying he acted on behalf of his father in an official capacity despite never being elected or formally appointed. Born in 1969 in Mashhad, Mojtaba grew up during the period when his father was deeply involved in opposition activities against the Shah.
Notably, Khamenei had excluded his son from a shortlist of potential successors prepared last year, and within Iran’s Shia clerical establishment, a father-to-son transition is generally viewed unfavourably.ย
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