Femi Ashekun/
Iran’s powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, has named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to Iranian state media.
The decision follows the death of Ali Khamenei during the escalating regional conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
The elder Khamenei had ruled the Islamic Republic since 1989 and was the country’s highest authority, wielding final power over the military, judiciary and key state policies.
Under Iran’s constitution, the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member council of senior clerics elected by the public, is responsible for appointing and overseeing the supreme leader.
The body convenes when the office becomes vacant and selects a successor who will serve as the Islamic Republic’s ultimate political and religious authority.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a mid-ranking Shiite cleric believed to be in his mid-50s, has long been considered a potential successor to his father despite maintaining a relatively low public profile.
Analysts say he built influence over the years through close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and networks within Iran’s clerical establishment.
His reported selection marks one of the most sensitive leadership transitions in the Islamic Republic’s history.
Critics have long warned that a father-to-son succession could resemble hereditary rule, something Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution sought to eliminate after the overthrow of the monarchy.
The leadership change comes as Iran faces one of the most volatile periods in decades, with continuing military exchanges across the Middle East and growing tensions with Israel and Western allies.
Observers say the new supreme leader will immediately inherit control of Iran’s armed forces, influence over the country’s nuclear programme and ultimate authority over strategic foreign policy decisions, placing Mojtaba Khamenei at the centre of the region’s rapidly escalating geopolitical crisis.
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