Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new Supreme Leader, just over a week after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in United States-Israeli strikes that have plunged the region into widespread conflict.
Mojtaba becomes the third leader of the Islamic Republic and marks the first instance of hereditary succession since the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy in the 1979 revolution.
Although the new Supreme Leader has never run for public office or been elected, he has long been a powerful figure within the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In recent years, he was increasingly regarded as a likely successor to his father.
56-year-old Mojtaba, who will now be charged with leading the Islamic Republic through the biggest crisis in its 47-year history, was named by clerics as his father’s successor on Sunday.
The 88-member Assembly of Experts, the body authorized to select the country’s supreme leader, had previously signaled it had reached a majority decision without naming the individual.
One member said at the time: “The path of Imam Khomeini and the path of the martyr Imam Khamenei has been chosen. The name of Khamenei will continue.”
Ali Khamenei, who had led Iran for 37 years following Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 revolution, was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28.
His death marked the beginning of a conflict that has since spread chaos throughout the Middle East.
The Israeli military has reportedly threatened to target any replacement for Khamenei. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who had demanded a say in the nomination, suggested that the war might continue until Iran’s leadership and military were neutralized.
Trump warned that Iran’s new leader would not “last long” without US approval, saying “He’s going to have to get approval from us. If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long.”
Iranian officials have rejected US involvement in the selection of their next leader, insisting that the choice is solely for the Iranian people.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked Trump’s claim on X, writing: “The fate of dear Iran, which is more precious than life, will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation, not by [Jeffrey] Epstein’s gang.”
