Mojtaba Khamenei, a cleric long regarded as one of the most influential yet least visible figures in Iran’s political hierarchy, has been appointed the country’s new supreme leader after his father was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike.
The 56-year-old cleric was selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body responsible under the Constitution for appointing the country’s top political and religious authority.
His selection followed the established constitutional procedure rather than a hereditary transfer of power, although his family lineage and proximity to the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have long placed him at the center of speculation about succession.
With his appointment, Mojtaba becomes the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, inheriting leadership at a moment of intense regional conflict and domestic uncertainty.
Early life, family background
