Iran Names Mojtaba Khamenei Supreme Leader After Israeli Strike Killed His Father

Iran's clerical Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader after a wartime vote, marking the first father-to-son transfer of the post since 1979.

“State media say Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader”

Al Jazeera

State-affiliated outlets reported the 88-member body moved swiftly under what it called "acute wartime conditions," and state media and official statements urged Iranians to unite behind the selection amid ongoing fighting and security fears.

Al Jazeera

Mojtaba Khamenei is described across reports as a 56-year-old, low-profile cleric who rose through the Office of the Supreme Leader.

He built influence via security and Revolutionary Guard ties rather than broad public religious stature.

CBS News

Sources note his mid-level clerical rank (hojatoleslam), a long history inside the state apparatus and the IRGC, and allegations that he helped coordinate repression after the 2009 Green Movement.

Analysts say these factors make him a hardliner whose authority rests on proximity to power and security institutions.

The Assembly’s vote took place against the immediate backdrop of devastating strikes that killed the previous supreme leader and other senior officials.

“Iranian state TV announced Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country's late supreme leader, has been named his successor”

NBC Boston

Reports describe pressure and security complications during the selection process.

Iranian outlets say airstrikes hit the Assembly’s secretariat and disrupted online voting, prompting a second, guarded in-person session near a holy shrine.

Officials and security commanders, including IRGC figures, are reported to have pushed members to support Mojtaba.

Reactions inside Iran were mixed: state institutions and the armed forces moved quickly to pledge allegiance while public sentiment showed fractures.

State television shifted into celebratory coverage and key institutions publicly backed the new leader.

NBC News

Some Tehran residents reportedly expressed anger.

External figures, including U.S. politicians quoted in international press, openly criticized the succession.

The appointment comes amid a wider regional escalation that has produced heavy infrastructure damage and disputed casualty tallies, and international leaders called for restraint even as strikes and counterstrikes continued.

“Iranian state TV announced Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country's late supreme leader, has been named his successor”

NBC4 Washington

Reporting cited hundreds of missiles and drones hitting Gulf countries, oil depots burning in Tehran after Israeli strikes, and widely varying death tolls.

NBC4 Washington

Diplomatic efforts, such as calls for de-escalation from European leaders, were highlighted alongside continuing battlefield and intelligence disputes.