Iran elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader this Sunday (8), a week after his father was killed in an attack by the United States and Israel.
Mojtaba was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a body made up of 88 high-ranking elected clerics tasked with choosing the supreme leader. Until then, the Assembly had elected a new leader only once since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
That’s when Ali Khamenei was hastily chosen following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini more than three decades ago.
Earlier this Sunday (8), Hosseinali Eshkevari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, had stated that Khamenei’s name will remain as leader of Iran.
“With the majority of votes, the person who will continue the legacy of Imam Khomeini and the martyr Imam Khamenei has been chosen. Khamenei’s name will remain. The vote has already been held and the result will be announced soon,” Eshkevari said in a video released by Iranian media.
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?
Motjaba Khamenei, 56, is the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and holds the position of a mid-ranking cleric.
He is known for exerting significant influence behind the scenes and for having strong links to the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), the country’s most powerful military force, as well as its Basij volunteer paramilitary force.
According to three officials, the Guard pushed for his appointment, arguing that he had the necessary qualifications to lead Iran through this time of crisis.
