March 09, (THEWILL) — Iran’s Assembly of Experts has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the United States-Israeli strikes on February 28.
The announcement was made on Sunday night by Iranian state-run media, which reported that the 56-year-old cleric was selected by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of elected senior clerics constitutionally mandated to choose the country’s supreme leader.
Earlier, The New York Times had reported that Mojtaba had emerged as the leading candidate for the powerful position.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second-oldest son of the late supreme leader, is widely believed to have played a significant behind-the-scenes role in managing his father’s office for years. Reports indicate that he maintains close ties with senior figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its elite Quds Force, making him a central figure within Iran’s security and political establishment.
Despite his influence, Mojtaba has never held an official government position and is not regarded as a high-ranking cleric, a factor that has drawn criticism from observers who argue that his appointment could reinforce dynastic influence within the Islamic Republic’s leadership structure.
Israeli media have described Mojtaba as more hard-line than his father, alleging that he played a key role in the government’s response to anti-government protests in recent years.
In November 2019, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on him, designating him for representing the Supreme Leader in an official capacity despite not holding a formal role in the Iranian government. The US accused him of working closely with commanders of the IRGC-Quds Force and the Basij militia to advance what it described as his father’s “destabilising regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.”
Meanwhile, an Israeli source familiar with the matter said Israel had targeted Mojtaba Khamenei in a strike last week, though Israeli authorities believe he survived the attack but sustained injuries.
Last week, United States President Donald Trump said he must be “involved in the appointment” of Iran’s next leader, describing the possible emergence of Khamenei’s son as successor as “unacceptable”.
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