Mojtaba Khamenei, the eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been elected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts as the country’s new Supreme Leader, strengthening the influence of the Khamenei family within the Islamic Republic and prompting debate over the principles of the theocratic system, which does not formally provide for hereditary succession.
The decision by the 88-member Assembly follows reports in Iranian media that its members were not present in the building in Qom that was struck earlier on Tuesday by Israel. Despite those reports, United States President Donald Trump claimed the clerical leadership had been “flattened”.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s wife was killed in a strike in Iraq on Saturday. According to a correspondent for Iran International, his selection as Supreme Leader took place “under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards”.
A discreet figure shaped by the revolution
Mojtaba Khamenei, the influential son of Iran’s Supreme Leader, has long been viewed as a discreet yet powerful cleric. Widely regarded as a shadow figure within the Islamic Republic and a potential successor to his father, he exercised significant influence over Iran’s political and security apparatus, reinforced by close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Born in 1969 in Mashhad, a major city near the Afghan border, he grew up with his six siblings in a highly politicised environment. His early years were shaped by his father’s opposition to the Shah, which led to repeated arrests by the regime’s secret police, SAVAK.
Rise within the clerical establishment
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Khamenei family moved to Tehran, where Mojtaba attended the elite Alavi High School, graduating in 1987. During his studies he also joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological military force of the clerical establishment.
During the Iran–Iraq war he served in the IRGC’s Habib Battalion, where he developed ties with figures who would later become influential within Iran’s establishment, consolidating his position within the system.
His father’s appointment as Supreme Leader in 1989 marked a turning point in his life.
He later studied Islamic theology and jurisprudence under prominent clerics, first in Tehran and later in Qom, widely regarded as the centre of Shia scholarly activity, strengthening his standing within the religious elite despite his relatively modest clerical rank.
Influence over politics, security and finance
Mojtaba Khamenei is reported to have played a central role in managing Iran’s economic crisis and growing domestic unrest, including the suppression of protests.
At the same time, he is believed to have controlled vast financial assets, including a bank account worth $1.6 billion that was frozen by the United Kingdom in 2009.
His influence extends beyond politics, reinforced by close ties with Iran’s security forces and key media institutions, particularly the state broadcaster of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRIB), which helped consolidate his authority.
