Mojtaba Khamenei Named Iran’s Supreme Leader After Reported Israeli Strike Injury
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as the next leader of the Islamic Republic, Iranian officials said, elevating a cleric long viewed as influential behind the scenes as the country remains at war with Israel and the United States.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has never previously held an official government position. He is the second son of Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years of the Islamic Republic’s 47 years after succeeding its first leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.
His selection comes days after an Israeli assassination attempt reportedly left him wounded. Iranian state television referred to him as “Jaanbaz [injured war veteran] of Ramadan,” appearing to confirm that he had been injured during the ongoing war. His wife and, according to reports, one of his children were killed on the first day of the joint US-Israeli conflict.
Iran’s state TV also said Mojtaba Khamenei speaks English fluently and has completed specialized courses in psychology and psychoanalysis. The broadcaster added that he has studied modern technologies, military science, and security affairs.
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Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari told state television that the Assembly of Experts convened Sunday in the city of Qom, where more than two-thirds of the body’s 88 clerics attended, satisfying the quorum required to choose a new supreme leader.
“Some of the members were not informed about the meeting and could not make it to the session even though they were in the city of Qom,” Heidari said.
Heidari added that Khamenei received nearly 85% of the votes cast by those present.
The vote followed an Israeli strike on March 3 that hit the building where the Assembly of Experts’ 88 clerics was expected to meet to select a successor.
US President Donald Trump reacted to the appointment hours after it was reported, having previously criticized the idea of Khamenei assuming power.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.”
