Mojtaba Khamenei
According to anchor Brian Kilmeade, he discussed the issue with the US president, to which Trump replied, “I’m not happy”.
Ten days after Ali Khameneni’s death, Iran’s council of experts elected his successor as the Islamic republic’s Supreme Leader. He became the 56-year-old son of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Shadowy figure
Mojtaba is a shadowy figure, observers say. He has never held public office, made no public speeches or given interviews, yet he was fully immersed in his father’s affairs. Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, the daughter of former Iranian parliament speaker and prominent conservative politician Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, was also killed in the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli strike that killed Khameneeni Sr. Their marriage produced three children.
From theologian to politician
Mojtaba is the second of Ali Khamenei’s six children. He was born in 1969 in Mashhad, served briefly in the army during the Iran-Iraq war, and received his fundamental theological education relatively late, entering religious seminary at age 30. He attained the spiritual rank of Ayatollah Mojtaba in 2022 while actively engaged in teaching.
However, in October 2024, he unexpectedly announced that he was suspending his previous studies, calling the decision a “personal matter between him and the Almighty.” Many analysts viewed the move as a political maneuver to prepare for a possible leadership succession.
The younger Khamenei, while never holding an official government position, spent about 20 years in his father’s office, responsible for coordinating relations between the clergy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). His proximity to the regime’s military pillar, observers say, appears to have played a decisive role in his current election.
The IRGC has already sworn allegiance to him.
