Iran’s power passes to Mojtaba Khamenei: What's to come?

The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli air strikes marks a historic and controversial moment for the Islamic Republic. Analysts cited by a CNN article say the decision by Iran’s clerical establishment signals both the consolidation of hardline power and the transformation of a revolutionary system that once rejected hereditary rule.

When millions of Iranians poured into the streets during the Iranian Revolution to overthrow the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the uprising appeared to end the tradition of political power passing from father to son.

More than four decades later, that assumption has been challenged.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Ali Khamenei, has been elevated to the country’s highest position after the clerical establishment selected him to succeed his father, who ruled Iran for nearly four decades before being killed in US-Israeli air strikes.

The decision was made by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body responsible for selecting the supreme leader. According to analysis by CNN, the move has fueled fears among many Iranians that the Islamic Republic has effectively become a political dynasty — something the 1979 revolution had sought to abolish.

US President Donald Trump said last week that Khamenei’s selection as successor to his father would be “unacceptable.”

The strike that killed the former supreme leader also devastated the Khamenei family. According to Iranian state media cited by CNN, Ali Khamenei’s daughter, a grandchild, a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law were all killed in the attack. Days later, his wife — Mojtaba’s mother — also died from her wounds.

Quiet but influential figure

Born in 1969, Mojtaba Khamenei pursued religious studies similar to his brothers, though he never reached the rank of Mujtahid — a level of Islamic jurisprudence many regime loyalists consider essential for someone serving as supreme leader.

He is married to Zahra Haddad Adel, the daughter of Gholam Haddad Adel, a longtime confidant of his father.

For years, Mojtaba maintained a relatively low public profile. Yet analysts say he exercised considerable influence behind the scenes.

Working within his father’s office, he developed close relationships with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the economic and political networks that underpin the Islamic Republic’s power structure.

For Iran watchers, CNN reported, his role within the system was widely understood even without a formal senior position.

In recent years, he was increasingly viewed as a possible successor. In 2021, photographs circulated on social media showing supporters distributing posters in Tehran promoting him as the country’s next leader.

Political role behind scenes

Many analysts believe Mojtaba played a key role in backing the rise of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the 2005 presidential election.

According to CNN’s analysis, he mobilised networks linked to the Revolutionary Guards to support Ahmadinejad, then the mayor of Tehran, in his race against the better-known establishment figure Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

His influence became more visible during the mass protests that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election. Millions of Iranians took to the streets, claiming Ahmadinejad’s re-election had been rigged.

The protests were violently suppressed, a crackdown that analysts say marked a turning point for Iran’s reform movement.

During the unrest, demonstrators openly targeted the younger Khamenei, chanting “Mojtaba bemiri Rahbari ro Nabini,” or “Mojtaba may you die so you don’t assume the leadership role.”

Sanctions and international scrutiny

Mojtaba Khamenei was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 after the US Treasury accused him of working closely with commanders of the Revolutionary Guards to advance what it described as his father’s “destabilising regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.”

Uncertain future for Iran

Mojtaba enters the leadership with little administrative experience. He has never headed a major organisation and has made few public statements on Iran’s economic, social or political challenges — many of which were already severe before the current war.

Analysts say his worldview has largely been shaped by decades working within his father’s inner circle.

In selecting him, Iran’s leadership may be sending a message of continuity.

The appointment would signal the “continuation of the regime,” said Maha Yahya, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center, speaking to CNN before Mojtaba was confirmed.

It could also represent a message from Tehran’s leadership, she said, that US-Israeli military pressure is “not going to get us to shift position.”

By Sabina Mammadli