Mojtaba Khamenei has emerged as a key contender to succeed his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s Supreme Leader, with the Assembly of Experts expected to decide on a successor soon.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, is among the leading contenders to become the new head of the Islamic republic. The successor will be named by the powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for appointing the country’s Supreme Leader. One of its members, Ahmad Khatami, told Iranian state media on Wednesday that they hoped to vote “at the earliest opportunity”.
Other contenders for the top position reportedly include Alireza Arafi, a member of the interim council currently running the country, hardliner Mohsen Araki, and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic in 1979. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, would represent a hereditary transition — an idea his father publicly rejected in 2024. The Islamic republic had ended a multi-century royal dynasty headed by the shah, making the prospect of dynastic succession politically sensitive.
Born on September 8, 1969, in Mashhad, eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is one of six children of the late leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died at 86 in Tehran during the opening US-Israeli missile strikes of the war. Known for his discretion at official ceremonies and in the media, Mojtaba’s influence has long been the subject of speculation within Iran and in diplomatic circles. Though he holds no formal post, he is the only child of the former supreme leader to occupy a public role and has been portrayed by some as a powerful behind-the-scenes figure at the heart of Iran’s leadership.
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