MOJTABA KHAMENEI EMERGES AS KEY CONTENDER TO SUCCEED IRAN’S LATE SUPREME LEADER
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Agency Report
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has emerged as one of the leading contenders to succeed his father as head of the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei’s successor is expected to be chosen by the Assembly of Experts, the country’s top clerical body. One of its members, Ahmad Khatami, told Iranian state media on Wednesday that the body hoped to vote “at the earliest opportunity.”
Other potential contenders reportedly include Alireza Arafi, a member of the interim leadership council currently overseeing the country’s transition; hardliner cleric Mohsen Araki; and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ended Iran’s centuries-old monarchy under the Shah.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, would represent a rare hereditary-style succession in the Islamic Republic — an idea his father had publicly rejected in 2024. Born on September 8, 1969, in Mashhad, eastern Iran, he is one of the late supreme leader’s six children.
Ali Khamenei died at the age of 86 in Tehran during the opening phase of US-Israeli missile strikes in the ongoing conflict.
Despite maintaining a low public profile and holding no formal government office, Mojtaba has long been regarded by some observers as a powerful behind-the-scenes figure within Iran’s political and security establishment. He is the only child of the former supreme leader known to have played a visible public role.
A cleric who wears the black turban signifying descent from the Prophet Mohammed, Mojtaba studied theology in Qom, where he also taught, attaining the rank of Hujjat al-Islam — below that of Ayatollah. He is considered close to conservative factions, particularly the Revolutionary Guards, with ties dating back to his service in a combat unit during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.
In 2019, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him during President Donald Trump’s first term, alleging that he effectively represented the supreme leader despite never being elected or formally appointed to public office. The department said Ali Khamenei had delegated elements of his authority to his son, who allegedly worked closely with Iranian security forces.
Opposition figures have also accused Mojtaba of involvement in the crackdown following the disputed re-election of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, which sparked widespread protests.
Reports by international media have further alleged that he amassed substantial personal wealth through investments abroad, though such claims remain contested.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned that any successor to Ali Khamenei would become “a target.”
The Assembly of Experts, comprising 88 members elected every eight years, has only overseen one leadership transition — in 1989, when Ali Khamenei was selected following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini.
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