Iran’s Assembly of Experts has formally declared that Mojtaba Khamenei will take over as the Supreme Leader, succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the recent conflict. Iranian state media reported the decision on Sunday, confirming earlier indications that the leadership transition had already been settled.
The official confirmation followed an earlier report by Iran International, a media outlet critical of Tehran, which had stated that the 56-year-old cleric had been selected for the powerful post. The announcement now makes Mojtaba the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, granting him sweeping control over state affairs, the military establishment and key political institutions.
Mojtaba, regarded as a hardline figure within Iran’s clerical and political establishment, has long been seen as a likely successor by influential sections of the ruling elite. A mid-ranking cleric by formal standing, he maintains close connections with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s most powerful military and security institution, which has played a central role in shaping Iran’s strategic direction.
His elevation is expected to heighten tensions with the United States. President Donald Trump said Washington should have a role in the leadership outcome and warned that Mojtaba’s tenure would be short without American approval. Israel also issued statements ahead of the announcement cautioning that whoever assumed the top post could become a target.
Despite Iran’s ideological opposition to hereditary political succession, Mojtaba’s rise reflects the considerable influence he built through his father’s office and his strong backing among security and conservative clerical circles.
In a statement released shortly after midnight Tehran time, the Assembly of Experts said that Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei had been appointed as the third Leader of the Islamic Republic through a decisive vote. Hours before the announcement, Assembly member Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir indicated that the chosen leader matched Ali Khamenei’s long-stated view that Iran’s top authority should be someone firmly opposed by hostile foreign powers. He referenced US criticism of Mojtaba as indirect confirmation of that standard.
Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969 in Mashhad, one of Iran’s holiest Shia cities, and spent his formative years during the period when his father was active in the movement that led to the fall of the Shah. As a young adult, he served during the Iran–Iraq War before pursuing religious studies.
He received clerical training under conservative scholars in Qom, Iran’s principal centre of Shia theological education. Although he never held a formal government post, he has exercised influence through advisory roles and close involvement in his father’s office, frequently appearing at political and religious gatherings aligned with the establishment.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned him in 2019, stating that he functioned in an official capacity representing his father despite lacking an elected or formally appointed government position.
Mojtaba has also faced criticism from segments of Iranian society, particularly during protests that erupted after the custodial death of a young woman accused of violating strict dress regulations. Demonstrators viewed him as an influential behind-the-scenes figure within the hardline power structure.
He has also been widely associated with the political rise of conservative leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won Iran’s presidency in 2005 and became a defining figure in the country’s hardline politics.
