March 3, 2026, 10:32 p.mMar 3, 2026, 11:03 p.m
Mojtaba Khamenei, photographed in 2019.Image: tasnim news/wikimedia commons
The son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Motjaba Khamenei, has been chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader, according to media reports. Among other things, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing local sources.
Accordingly, the 56-year-old was elected as his father’s successor by the so-called “Council of Experts”. The council conducted the election online, especially since its normal meeting building was bombed by Israel on Tuesday afternoon.
Motyaba Khamenei has long been considered an important figure in the background of the mullahs’ regime. After the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a plane crash in 2024, he was already treated by various media as a potential successor to Khamenei Senior.
In particular, he is said to have an excellent connection to the mullahs’ military arm – the Revolutionary Guards. He is also said to have close relationships with various leaders in the regime’s security apparatus.
Mojtaba is the second of Ali Khamenei’s four sons. After training at a regime school in He studied theology in Khom. He is said to manage enormous assets at home and abroad. According to large-scale research by Bloomberg He is said to own, among other things, several properties in London’s most expensive districts and in Abu Dhabi.
(cpf)
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