MOJTABA Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has been selected as his successor, according to reports from Iranian state media.
Members of the clerical body tasked with choosing the country’s highest authority announced the decision on Sunday, urging citizens to unite behind the new leadership. In a statement broadcast by state media, the assembly said Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen through what it described as a ‘decisive vote.’
The body also called on Iranians across the country, particularly scholars, clerics, and intellectuals in seminaries and universities, to pledge allegiance and help maintain national unity during what it described as a critical moment for the country, the Guardian of the UK reported.
The appointment comes amid rising tensions in the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Analysts say the move could intensify the crisis, especially after US President Donald Trump previously warned that Mojtaba Khamenei’s emergence as supreme leader would be unacceptable.
READ ALSO: Iranian leader’s daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter killed in US-Israel strikes
Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader would ‘not last long’ without Washington’s approval, reiterating his opposition to Mojtaba Khamenei assuming the position and suggesting the United States should influence Iran’s political future.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s selection marks a historic moment in Iran, representing the first time since the Iranian Revolution that the country’s supreme leadership has passed from father to son. The development is expected to trigger debate within Iran about the emergence of a dynastic system in a state founded to end hereditary rule after the fall of the shah.
His father, Ali Khamenei, who led Iran for 37 years, was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, the first day of the current war involving Iran.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said in a message posted in Farsi on X that it would pursue anyone involved in selecting a successor to Ali Khamenei. The statement suggested Israel would continue targeting figures associated with Iran’s leadership.
For some analysts, Mojtaba Khamenei’s elevation is largely symbolic, aimed at projecting strength and demonstrating that the Iranian regime remains resilient despite mounting Western pressure.
The 56-year-old cleric has never held elected office or formally occupied a senior government role. However, he has spent much of his life close to the centre of power while remaining largely out of the public spotlight.
Born in 1969 in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, Mojtaba Khamenei grew up within the clerical and political establishment that emerged after the 1979 revolution. He studied theology in the seminaries of Qom and is believed to have participated in the later stages of the Iran–Iraq War.
Unlike many senior Iranian political figures, he never pursued a formal political career. Instead, he gradually built influence within his father’s office, where he was widely regarded as part of a small inner circle controlling access to the supreme leader.
READ ALSO: Trump crossed ‘red line’ by killing Iran’s supreme leader, Tehran warns
Over time, Mojtaba Khamenei developed strong relationships with conservative clerics and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, connections analysts say helped strengthen his position within Iran’s power structure.
His name became widely known during Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election, when reformist politicians accused him of supporting the security crackdown that followed mass protests. Despite the controversy, Mojtaba Khamenei has never publicly addressed questions about succession.
Supporters view him as a figure capable of preserving the ideological legacy established by Ruhollah Khomeini and maintained by his father. Critics, however, say his rise raises concerns about the concentration of power and the possibility of hereditary leadership in a system created to reject monarchy.
The leadership transition comes at a time of escalating regional tensions. Iran has warned it could target oil infrastructure in neighbouring countries after Israeli strikes hit multiple energy facilities around Tehran, triggering massive fires and clouds of smoke across the city.
“If you can tolerate oil at more than $200 per barrel, continue this game,” a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday, warning that further escalation could disrupt global energy markets.
The United States has attempted to calm markets as oil prices surge, saying it does not intend to target Iran’s energy infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a new wave of Iranian strikes across the Gulf was reported on Sunday. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait all said they faced attacks.
Saudi authorities said their air defence systems intercepted 15 drones, while officials in Bahrain reported material damage to a major desalination facility.
Saudi Civil Defense said two people were killed and 12 others injured after a projectile struck a residential area in the city of Al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia.
