Mojtaba Khamenei Emerges as Iran's New Supreme Leader in Historic Father-to-Son Succession

In a dramatic and historically unprecedented shift of power, Iran's Assembly of Experts has reportedly selected Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, as the country's new Supreme Leader, just days after his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.​

Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran with an iron fist for 36 years, was killed during what US and Israeli officials described as "Operation Epic Fury," a series of coordinated strikes targeting multiple Iranian cities including Tehran. His chief of staff Ali Asghar Hejazi was also reported killed in the same strikes.​​

Mojtaba, a reclusive but influential figure with deep ties to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, had long been considered a controversial potential successor. Critics had warned that a father-to-son succession would mark an unprecedented dynastic shift within the Islamic Republic, which has never seen such a transfer since its founding in 1979.

The appointment remains unverified by official Iranian sources. A three-member interim council comprising President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Mohseni-Eje'i, and senior cleric Alireza Arafi had been overseeing governance since Khamenei's death. Iran has declared 40 days of national mourning.