Iran Names Mojtaba Khamenei New Supreme Leader

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader, state media and multiple outlets reported.

State-aligned and international agencies said the 88-member clerical body elected Mojtaba Khamenei by a large majority in an extraordinary session, and Iranian state television announced the succession following the wartime death of his father.

ABC Columbia

The naming was widely described as the formal elevation of Ali Khamenei’s son to the Islamic Republic’s top post during a period of active military conflict.

Mojtaba Khamenei is portrayed in reporting as a long-time behind-the-scenes power broker with close ties to Iran's security apparatus but limited public or formal political office experience.

Profiles describe him as a 56-year-old cleric born in Mashhad who taught at a seminary in Qom.

Al-Monitor

He served briefly in the Iran–Iraq War as a teenager.

He has been influential inside his father’s inner circle and with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

He has not held elected office and lacked the senior religious stature his father held at the time of succession.

The succession unfolded in the immediate aftermath of intense regional hostilities.

“For his part, Iran’s chief national security official Ali Larijani called for standing as one behind the new leader”

Asharq News

State and international reporting links the selection to a nine‑day war that began when Iran’s supreme leader was killed in strikes on Feb. 28.

Iranian outlets said the Assembly invoked Article 108 to act in wartime and pressed to avoid a leadership vacuum.

State and Western sources documented strikes across Iran and U.S. involvement in early Tomahawk launches.

These accounts underscore the fraught, militarised context in which the clerical council moved quickly to finalize a replacement.

Iranian state media pledged loyalty and urged national unity following his appointment.

IRGC and other military leaders publicly declared allegiance to the new leader.

Associated Press

Critics quoted in coverage called the choice unacceptable or described the nominee as a 'lightweight'.

Israel warned it would target any successor.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly denounced the selection.

Analysts and regional reporting framed the move as cementing continuity of hardline rule and placing strategic and nuclear authorities under a leader tied closely to the IRGC, with likely implications for the war and international responses.

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Associated Press News

Commentaries and summaries suggested the appointment preserves the conservative theocratic trajectory, consolidates control over military strategy and enriched‑uranium stockpiles, and occurs alongside diplomatic evacuations, infrastructure strikes and economic fallout such as higher oil prices.

Associated Press News