Ayatollah’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, elected Iran’s next supreme leader: reports

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to reports.

Iran International cited sources saying the decision was made “under pressure” from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second eldest son of Ali Khamenei and was born in Mashhad in 1969.

His early childhood coincided with his father’s rise as a revolutionary figurehead opposing the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The file photo shows Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, participating in a demonstration to mark Jerusalem Day in Tehran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Ali Khamenei rose from dissident cleric to senior government official, holding key positions within the regime, including deputy minister of defense.

The family moved from Mashhad to Tehran, where Mojtaba attended Alavi High School, a school known for training members of Iran’s political and religious elite.

He received general and religious training there and graduated in 1987. In 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei was appointed supreme leader.

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Large crowds gather in Tehran’s Enghelab Square on Monday after Iranian state television announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in an Israeli strike. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The same year, Mojtaba began his office studies in Tehran. He studied under his father as well as Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who later served as chief justice of Iran.

Over the years, Mojtaba was constantly seen with his father and was also seen as an influential figure behind the scenes.

In 2019, the United States sanctioned Mojtaba Khamenei under Executive Order 13867. The U.S. Treasury Department said he “represented the supreme leader in an official capacity despite never having been elected or appointed to any government position outside of his work in his father’s office.”

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei makes his first public appearance in weeks amid new U.S. threats. (Courtesy of the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran/The Associated Press)

The Treasury also said that the Supreme Leader had delegated some of his leadership responsibilities to Mojtaba.

He said he worked closely with the commanders of the IRGC Quds Force and the Basij Resistance Force, positioning him as a key player in domestic and international security affairs.

Mojtaba is married to the daughter of former Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel.

Among Ali Khamenei’s sons, he is considered the most powerful and politically influential, according to some reports.

Initial reports indicated that Mojtaba was among around 40 officials killed in the February 28 attack targeting Iran’s top cleric.

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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, President Asset said the strikes on Iran have eliminated much of the regime’s expected succession. “Most of the people we thought about are dead,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.

So far, Iranian state media has not confirmed the succession news.

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