Assembly of Experts elects Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s Supreme Leader

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the Islamic Republic’s next paramount ruler, according to opposition media citing informed sources.

The decision marks one of the most consequential moments in the history of the Islamic Republic, effectively transferring power within the same family for the first time since the 1979 revolution.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba as the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards, informed sources told Iran International.

The 88-member clerical body reportedly held virtual meetings after Israeli strikes targeted their assembly building in Qom. Iranian state media has not yet officially confirmed the selection.

Mojtaba has long been considered one of the most influential figures inside Iran’s ruling system despite rarely appearing in public or holding formal political office. For years he operated from within the Office of the Supreme Leader, serving as a gatekeeper and power broker around his father.

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Unlike his father, who was elevated in 1989 after years of clerical and political experience, Mojtaba has never held public office and is not a senior cleric.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz immediately warned that any new Iranian leader “will remain a target for elimination” if they continue hostile policies against Israel and its allies.

The succession comes days after US-Israeli strikes killed Ali Khamenei on February 28, triggering an escalating regional war. Mojtaba’s wife was also killed in the attack, elevating his status as a martyr’s family member among hardliners.

The Islamic Republic has long criticized hereditary rule, portraying itself as a just alternative to monarchy. Yet Mojtaba’s succession represents precisely that—a dynastic handover.

The younger Khamenei was sanctioned by the US in 2019 for advancing his father’s “destabilizing regional ambitions.” He is closely tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and was implicated in the violent suppression of 2009 protests.