Following an attack that killed his father, Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected to become Iran’s next supreme leader, according to an announcement from a semi-official news agency. The 56-year-old is now set to be the third person to lead the Islamic Republic.
This succession marks a significant moment in the nation’s history, representing the first instance of hereditary leadership since the monarchy was overthrown in the 1979 revolution. The country’s Assembly of Experts reportedly elected the new leader in what was described as a “decisive vote,” with the results made public just hours later.
The news comes amid continued regional conflict, with Iran reportedly launching attacks on neighboring countries, including a strike on a water plant in Bahrain.
Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969 in the holy city of Mashhad. He briefly fought in the Iran-Iraq war, which helped cement his father’s rise to power, and later became a cleric after studying in the seminary city of Qom. While he maintains a relatively low public profile, he is widely seen as having close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful military force that leads Iran’s missile program and has grown to control a vast portion of the nation’s economy.
His political involvement has been a point of controversy in the past. Following the disputed 2009 elections, which sparked major public protests, opposition groups accused him of direct involvement in the alleged interference. Reports from earlier this year also suggested he oversees a significant international investment empire.
