Iran's Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, state media reported on Sunday.
Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, had long been viewed by elements of Iran's ruling establishment as a potential successor to his father, who was killed after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Although Iran's ruling ideology frowns on the principle of hereditary succession, he has a powerful following within the IRGC, including close ties to IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi, former head of IRGC intelligence Hossein Taeb, and political figures, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as well as his dead father's still-influential office.
“The name of Khamenei will continue,” said Ayatollah Hosseinali Eshkevari, a member of the clerical council charged with electing a new leader, said earlier on Sunday, hinting that the second-born son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be the country’s new ruler.
“With the majority of votes, the person who will continue the path of Imam Khomeini and the path of the martyr Imam Khamenei has been chosen. The name of Khamenei will continue. The vote has been cast and will be announced soon,” said Eshkevari in a video screened by Iranian media.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied claims that the Islamic regime had chosen a new supreme ruler on Sunday despite multiple officials hinting that Mojtaba Khamenei had been elected following significant pressure from the IRGC.
The assembly met on Thursday, the majority online, to discuss the appointment after “heavy pressure” from the IRGC to appoint Khamenei, but delayed the announcement until Sunday.
The announcement was reportedly delayed over security fears that Khamenei could be targeted, The New York Times noted, citing unnamed officials. Once his name is announced, authorities fear Khamenei will be targeted by Israel and the US.
The IDF’s Farsi account confirmed on X/Twitter that “the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor. We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you, either. This is a warning!”
Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir was recorded saying that a candidate had been selected based on the late supreme leader’s advice that Iran’s top leader should “be hated by the enemy” rather than praised by it.
“Even the Great Satan (US) has mentioned his name,” Alekasir said of the chosen successor, days after US President Donald Trump said that Khamenei was an “unacceptable” choice for him.
Disagreements erupt over appointment of Khamenei's son
While the former supreme leader senior may have advised the selection of a candidate not endorsed by the US, he was reportedly deeply opposed to the appointment of his son, fearing it would bring back a monarchy-like structure to the Islamic regime, Iran International reported last week, citing sources within the offices of the Assembly of Experts.
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was not pleased with the idea of his son’s leadership and never allowed this issue to be raised during his lifetime,” one assembly member told the chairman and members of the body’s leadership in calls, the sources told the Iranian diaspora site.
The past few days have also seen significant disagreements break out over Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment, according to Iran International, with some rejecting his new leadership role due to his lack of religious legitimacy and others siding with his father’s issue of monarchy.
Khamenei has never held a formal position in the Islamic regime’s government, though he fought during the Iran-Iraq War and obtained the clerical rank of “hojjatoleslam” after studying under religious conservatives in the seminaries of Hom.