'Mini supreme leader' Mojtaba Khamenei could soon rise but he's already the 'power behind the robes'

ABC reports that since the late 1990s Mojtaba has consolidated influence across political, security and clerical institutions.

“As senior clerics responsible for selecting Iran's next supreme leader met earlier this week to discuss their pick, a familiar name emerged as the frontrunner: Mojtaba Khamenei”

ABC

The article describes him as holding extremist and anti-Western views and as 'more violent and ideological than his father'.

ABC

It cites the 2026 report Unmasking the Bayt by Kasra Aarabi and Saeid Golkar.

That report says Mojtaba effectively served as an 'unofficial supreme security commander' after the disputed 2009 vote.

The report also says the Bayt is the single-most important entity in policymaking.

He was given the title of ayatollah in 2022.

The piece notes the regime's historical resistance to hereditary succession and says critics view his appointment as continuing an oppressive course.

US President Donald Trump told NBC that the attack he launched on February 28 'was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates' and said 'they are all dead'.

Regime supporter Foad Izadi told the ABC that the leadership has not yet voted and that a successor could be chosen in days rather than weeks.