Mojtaba Khamenei elected Iran’s Supreme Leader after Ali Khamenei’s killing. Photos: X.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the eldest son of the deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly been elected as the country’s new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts, according to Iranian International. The decision was taken following the killing of Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Citing sources, Iranian International reported on Tuesday that the 56-year-old Mojtaba was chosen to lead the Islamic Republic. The report further claimed that his elevation took place under pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Islamic Republic has historically criticised hereditary rule and portrayed its governance model as more equitable. Notably, Ali Khamenei had reportedly prepared a list of potential successors last year, and Mojtaba’s name was not included.
Within Iran’s Shia Muslim clerical establishment, succession from father to son is generally viewed unfavourably.
Mojtaba Khamenei is not a high-ranking cleric. He has never held public office and does not have a formal position within the Iranian government. However, he is widely believed to wield significant influence behind the scenes.
He is known to maintain close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Mojtaba Khamenei previously served in the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq War. He is among the surviving members of the Khamenei family. In contrast, the late supreme leader’s wife, daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were reportedly killed in the recent US-Israeli strikes.
Mojtaba was born in 1969 in Mashhad. He is married to Zahra Haddad-Adel, the daughter of Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a conservative Iranian politician and former Chairman of Parliament.
The couple reportedly married in 2004. Zahra was reported to have been killed in 2026 during the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. They are said to have three children together, though little public information is available about them.
In 2019, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei. At the time, the department stated that he had acted on behalf of the former supreme leader “in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position” other than working in his father’s office.
Although sanctioned by the United States in 2019, Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly continued to expand his financial footprint. A Bloomberg investigation found that Mojtaba Khamenei’s overseas real estate assets include a high-value residential property in London valued at over $138 million, an upscale villa in an affluent Dubai neighbourhood, and luxury hotels in both Frankfurt and Majorca in Europe.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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