Strasbourg 08.03.2026 : Iran’s Assembly of Experts said Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been selected as the third leader of the Islamic Republic, according to several Iranian state-run media outlets.

BREAKING: Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, as the country's new Supreme Leader, state media reports.https://t.co/kIoSEDEUOi

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Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was regarded as exerting influence behind the scenes, and has been accused of having hands in presidential elections, commanding the Basij militia, and maintaining close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

BREAKING: Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, as the country's new Supreme Leader, state media reports.https://t.co/kIoSEDEUOi

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Despite reports and speculation about his considerable influence, he has not held any official position in the Islamic Republic.

Both his father Ali Khamenei and his predecessor, the founder of the Islamic Republic Ruhollah Khomeini, had criticised hereditary succession in the context of the Pahlavi monarchy, which was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran's Assembly of Experts has appointed Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Leader of the Islamic Republic

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In 2019, Mojtaba Khamenei was sanctioned by the United States as part of a group of individuals “who are appointees of or have acted for or on behalf of” Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.