Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader and his successor in Iran

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has been appointed as the new head of the Islamic Republic, signalling continuity in his father’s hardline leadership style.

The 56-year-old maintained no formal government role during his father’s tenure, yet he was widely believed to wield influence behind the scenes at the centre of power in Iran.

He is considered closely aligned with conservative factions, particularly due to his ties with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which quickly pledged loyalty to the new leader.

Iran’s third supreme leader also received swift backing from President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as the armed forces and the judiciary, within hours of the announcement.

Because Mojtaba Khamenei has kept a low public profile—rarely appearing at official ceremonies or in the media—his real influence has long been the subject of speculation both among Iranians and within diplomatic circles.

He was chosen as supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts, Iran’s top clerical body, in a statement issued shortly after midnight Monday (2030 GMT Sunday).

Although the Iranian Revolution ended centuries of monarchical rule under the shah, the council effectively opted for a hereditary-style transition—something Ali Khamenei had previously rejected on principle in 2024.

Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is the only one of his father’s six children to assume a public leadership role.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died at the age of 86 during the first wave of US-Israeli air strikes on Tehran that triggered the widening Middle East conflict on February 28.

Security force connections

A cleric with a salt-and-pepper beard and the black turban worn by seyyeds—those believed to be descendants of the Prophet Mohammed—Mojtaba Khamenei also fought in the Iran–Iraq War during the 1980s.

The United States sanctioned him in 2019 during the presidency of Donald Trump, stating that he effectively represented his father despite never being formally elected or appointed to a government position beyond working in his father’s office.

At the time, the United States Department of the Treasury said Ali Khamenei had delegated parts of his leadership responsibilities to his son, who worked closely with Iranian security forces to advance what Washington described as Tehran’s regional ambitions and domestic repression.

Critics have also accused Mojtaba Khamenei of involvement in the crackdown that followed the disputed 2009 re-election of ultra-conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which sparked widespread protests.

According to an investigation by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources and Western intelligence reports, Mojtaba Khamenei has accumulated wealth estimated at more than $100 million.

The report alleged that funds from oil revenues were channelled through shell companies in tax havens into investments including luxury real estate in Britain, hotels in Europe and property in Dubai.

On the religious front, Mojtaba Khamenei studied Islamic theology in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, where he also taught.

He had previously held the clerical rank of Hujjat al-Islam, but was elevated to the higher title of ayatollah—held by his father and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini—upon becoming supreme leader.

His wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, was killed in the same US-Israeli strikes that claimed the life of the former supreme leader, according to Iranian authorities.

Meanwhile, Israel issued a stark warning following the appointment, stating that “the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue any successor and anyone involved in appointing a successor.”

The Assembly of Experts consists of 88 members elected every eight years. It has overseen only two leadership transitions so far—this week’s appointment and the selection of Ali Khamenei in 1989 after the death of Ruhollah Khomeini.