The Assembly of Experts of Iran has approved Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader of the country. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed that the selection of a spiritual leader should involve his participation.
During an emergency meeting held against the backdrop of war and threats, the Assembly noted that despite the bombing of the secretariat's office and the death of several employees, the process of selecting a new leader was not interrupted. This was reported in a statement made on Iranian state television.
“The Assembly of Experts highly values the status of the Supreme Leader in the conditions of the secrecy of the Holy Lord and understands the importance of leadership in the Islamic Republic. We honor 47 years of wise governance based on the principles of dignity and independence, and, respecting the memory of great leaders, we declare that after careful analysis, in accordance with religious obligations and faith in the Divine, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has been unanimously elected as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement said.
At this time, the positions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have strengthened amid political events in Iran. Immediately after the announcement of the new leader, the IRGC expressed full loyalty to the new head.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is fully prepared to follow the instructions of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei,” the organization stated.
Mojtaba Khamenei is considered one of the most closed and mysterious figures in Iranian politics.
He was born on September 8, 1969, in Mashhad and is the second of six children of Ali Khamenei. His wife is Zahra Haddad, the daughter of influential politician Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, who previously served as the speaker of parliament.
Mojtaba grew up in the post-revolutionary era. At the age of 17, according to Iranian media reports, he served briefly during the Iran-Iraq War and may have had connections with the volunteer Basij forces.
Unlike his father, he rarely speaks publicly, has not held official positions, and does not give interviews. Only a few of his photographs and video recordings are available to the public.
After finishing school, he went to study religious sciences in Qom, one of the largest centers of Shia theology, but he entered the seminary relatively late, around the age of 30.
Currently, he is considered a mid-level cleric, which raises discussions in Iranian religious circles regarding his ability to hold the highest position.
The name Mojtaba Khamenei became widely known in Iranian politics during the presidential elections of 2005 when the conservative candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won.
At that time, reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi accused him of interfering in the electoral process with the help of the IRGC and the Basij militia, claiming that religious organizations received funds to support Ahmadinejad.
In U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, Mojtaba was characterized as a person with significant influence within the power structure – a sort of “power behind the robes.” In 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury placed him on the sanctions list.
Meanwhile...
Ayatollah Sistani, the leader of Shia Muslims in Iraq, issued a fatwa on the necessity of collective jihad to protect the Islamic Revolution of Iran, according to the IRGC.
“The great Ayatollah Seyed Ali Sistani, one of the leading Shia religious authorities in Iraq, emphasized the obligation of collective jihad to protect the Islamic Revolution of Iran in response to a religious request from one of his followers.”
The record of the Assembly of Experts of Iran appointing Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba as the new Supreme Leader of the country was first published on K-News.
