Iran's Assembly of Experts announces Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader

• Iran’s Assembly of Experts names Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader.

Iran's Assembly of Experts announced Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader on Sunday.

In a lengthy statement, the assembly said that "after careful and extensive studies... in today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may Allah protect him) is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts."

The appointment would make Mojtaba Khamenei the third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

International reaction and tensions

The selection of Mojtaba Khamenei is likely to face strong opposition from the United States. US President Donald Trump has previously described him as “unacceptable” and insisted Washington should play a decisive role in determining Iran’s next leadership.

'Israel' has also issued threats regarding the succession process, warning that it could target the next supreme leader and those responsible for selecting him.

The appointment therefore risks intensifying already high tensions between Iran and its regional and international adversaries.

Debate inside Iran’s leadership

Inside Iran, the choice has sparked debate among political and military circles.

Some figures argue that handing power during wartime to a relative political novice could prove destabilising. They contend that defence and wartime strategy should remain primarily under the control of the armed forces and senior officials such as Ali Larijani, the experienced secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Supporters of Mojtaba Khamenei counter that his experience inside the supreme leader’s office makes him well-suited to the role. Having served as deputy chief of staff to his father, he is deeply familiar with the workings of the leadership structure and is being portrayed by allies as a rejuvenated continuation of Ali Khamenei’s leadership.

Iran currently governed by interim council

Iran is currently being run by a temporary tripartite leadership council that includes President Masoud Pezeshkian.

On Saturday, Pezeshkian attempted to reset relations with Gulf states, apologising for Iran’s previous attacks on their territory. He said Tehran had decided the strikes would end if Gulf states refrained from allowing attacks on Iran to be launched from their soil.

The move appeared aimed at easing regional tensions while Iran navigates its leadership transition.

A largely private figure

Mojtaba Khamenei was born on 8 September 1969 in the northeastern city of Mashhad and is the second of Ali Khamenei’s six children.

He received his secondary education at the religious Alavi School in Tehran. At the age of 17, he served in the military for short periods during the Iran–Iraq War, according to Iranian media. The eight-year conflict, which devastated both countries, deepened the Iranian leadership’s distrust of the United States and Western powers that supported Iraq.

In 1999, Mojtaba moved to the holy city of Qom to continue his religious studies at one of the main centres of Shia theology. Notably, he did not begin wearing clerical clothing until that time.

Rumours of influence behind the scenes

Unlike his father, Mojtaba Khamenei has largely kept a low public profile.

He has never held a formal government position and has rarely appeared publicly, giving no speeches or interviews. Only a limited number of photographs and videos of him have been released.

Despite this, there have long been rumours about his influence within the political system as a key gatekeeper to his father.

US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s described him as “the power behind the robes” and suggested he was widely regarded inside the regime as a “capable and forceful leader”, according to the Associated Press.