Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Web Desk: Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was named Iran’s new Supreme Leader on March 9, 2026, following the assassination of his father in an Israeli airstrike on February 28 that ignited the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Born in 1969 in Mashhad, Mojtaba grew up amid his father’s opposition to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the family relocated to Tehran. Mojtaba fought in the Iran-Iraq War with the Revolutionary Guard’s Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, a unit whose alumni later rose to prominent intelligence roles.
Despite lacking formal elected or governmental positions and theological credentials comparable to past leaders, Mojtaba built influence behind the scenes. He served as a close aide, confidant, gatekeeper, and power broker in his father’s office, with US diplomatic cables from the late 2000s describing him as “the power behind the robes” and a potential future leader due to his skills, wealth, and alliances.
He has worked closely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its Quds Force and Basij militia, which suppressed domestic protests. The US Treasury sanctioned him in 2019 for allegedly advancing his father’s regional and domestic policies, including claims of interference in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections in favor of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, from a prominent clerical family, was killed alongside his father in the initial strike. His selection by the Assembly of Experts came amid reported internal rifts and followed public celebrations in Tehran.
As Supreme Leader, he now commands Iran’s armed forces and IRGC, controls the ballistic missile program, and holds authority over the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium amid the war. The role—only transferred once before, from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Ali Khamenei in 1989—places him at the center of Iran’s theocratic system and war strategy against the US and Israel.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly rejected Mojtaba as successor, calling him a “lightweight” and “unacceptable” in interviews, insisting any new leader requires US involvement for “harmony and peace” in Iran.
