Iran’s powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, just over a week after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran that triggered a wider regional conflict.
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The announcement was made shortly after midnight on Monday in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB and major news agencies including Fars, Tasnim and ISNA. Mojtaba, 56, becomes the third Supreme Leader in the history of the Islamic Republic, following the late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his father, Ali Khamenei.
Born on September 8, 1969, in Mashhad, Mojtaba Khamenei is one of six children of the late supreme leader. A cleric who studied theology in the religious city of Qom, he holds the rank of Hujjat al-Islam, a mid-level clerical title below Ayatollah. Despite never holding an official government office, he has long been regarded as influential behind the scenes, particularly due to his close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and conservative factions within the Iranian establishment.
His appointment follows a dramatic leadership vacuum created by the death of his father, aged 86, during the first wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes. Iranian authorities also confirmed that Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel daughter of a former Iranian parliament speaker — was killed in the same attacks.
The leadership transition comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier said that the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei would be “unacceptable,” suggesting he should be involved in determining Iran’s next leader. Trump told ABC News that the new leader “is not going to last long” without U.S. approval.
Israel has also issued strong warnings. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said any successor to Ali Khamenei would be treated as a potential military target, with Katz warning that Israel would continue efforts to weaken the Iranian regime and create conditions for political change.
Within Iran, the choice of Mojtaba has sparked debate. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 ended centuries of hereditary monarchy under the Shah, making a father-to-son succession controversial among many Iranians. Critics argue Mojtaba lacks the senior religious credentials traditionally associated with the supreme leadership.
Analysts say the decision is intended to project stability at a time of crisis. Javed Ali, a former U.S. counterterrorism official and now an academic at the University of Michigan, noted that quickly appointing a new leader sends a signal that the Iranian political system remains intact despite the recent attacks.
Other potential contenders reportedly considered by the Assembly of Experts included senior clerics Alireza Arafi, Mohsen Araki, and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Iran’s founding leader. Ultimately, the 88-member clerical council selected Mojtaba, who has long been viewed by some insiders as his father’s most trusted political confidant.
The Assembly of Experts, whose members are elected every eight years, has only overseen one previous leadership transition in 1989 when Ali Khamenei was chosen following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Observers say Mojtaba Khamenei now steps into a system where the Supreme Leader holds ultimate authority over Iran’s military, judiciary, media and key political institutions, ensuring that the country’s power structure remains largely unchanged despite the dramatic circumstances surrounding his rise.
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