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Mojtaba Khamenei will replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader.
A statement by the Assembly of Experts – an 88-member clerical body tasked with selecting the supreme leader – was read aloud by a presenter on state TV.
Mojtaba Khamenei takes over from his father – who was killed in the first wave of US and Israeli strikes last week – as the country’s spiritual leader and highest authority.
Many expect Mojtaba Khamenei to continue his father’s hardline policies.
The presenter on state TV announced the decision, saying that it came “despite the acute wartime conditions and the direct threats of the enemies against this popular institution”.
The Assembly of Experts “did not pause even for a moment in the process of selecting and introducing the leadership of the Islamic system”, he added.
The presenter then shouted “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Khamenei is the leader”.
The US and Israel are yet to comment on the decision, but both governments are likely to object to the appointment.
US President Donald Trump said he wanted to play a role in the selection of Iran’s new leader.
While he signalled he would be open to someone linked to the old leadership taking over, he has made clear his opposition to Mojtaba Khamenei.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” Trump said earlier this week.
Just hours before the appointment, Trump said that, without his approval, whoever takes over is “not going to last long”.
Israel issued a warning before Khamenei’s second son was confirmed as the new supreme leader – saying that they will “continue to pursue every successor” to the late ayatollah.
Unlike his father, the 56-year-old has largely kept a low profile. He has never held government office, nor given public speeches or interviews, and only a limited number of photos and videos of him have ever been published.
Born on 8 September 1969 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Mojtaba is the second of Ali Khamenei’s six children.
He received his secondary education at the religious Alavi School in Tehran.
At age 17, Mojtaba Khamenei served in the military for several short periods during the Iran-Iraq War, according to Iranian media. The eight-year bloody conflict made the regime even more suspicious of the US and the West, which supported Iraq.
In 1999, Mojtaba Khamenei went to Qom, a holy city which is considered an important centre of Shia theology, to continue his religious studies. It is notable that he did not wear clerical clothing until this time.
Despite his low profile, there are longstanding rumours about his influence as a gatekeeper to his father.
US diplomatic cables, which were published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s, described him as “the power behind the robes” who was widely regarded as a “capable and forceful leader” within the regime, according to the Associated Press.
He has been accused of having hands in presidential elections, commanding the Basij militia, and maintaining close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In 2019, Mojtaba Khamenei was sanctioned by the US as part of a group of individuals “who are appointees of or have acted for or on behalf of” his father.
The US-Israeli strikes on Iran are now in their second week. Iran has responded by launching its own strikes at US allies and assets across the region.
Trump has justified attacking Iran by saying its government posed an imminent threat to the United States, citing Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
Source: BBC
