Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death in an Israeli airstrike last week has intensified speculation about who could take over the country’s most powerful post, and a name already circulating for years is now rising: Mojtaba Khamenei. The Associated Press reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, described as a secretive figure in the Islamic Republic, has not been seen publicly since the strike and that state-run Iranian media have not reported where he is.
AP said Mojtaba Khamenei’s stock has likely risen among hard-liners at a time when the war is escalating, partly because those around the leadership could view Ali Khamenei and his family as martyrs. The article also said Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to still be alive and likely in hiding as American and Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Iran.
The speculation about succession is playing out against the structure of the Islamic Republic, where the Assembly of Experts selects the next supreme leader. Whoever is chosen would gain control of Iran’s military during wartime and would also hold authority tied to Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile, which the Associated Press said could be used to build a nuclear weapon “should he choose to decree it.”
AP described how Mojtaba Khamenei’s potential candidacy had been criticized in the past as resembling a hereditary monarchy, and it suggested his prominence had been discussed even before the airstrike. It also noted that the leadership question now carries additional weight because of the limited pathway for continuity as the country confronts a widened confrontation involving Israel and the United States.
In detailing background on Mojtaba Khamenei, AP said he was born in 1969 in Mashhad and grew up as his father, Ali Khamenei, opposed the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The article recounted an episode described in an official biography of Ali Khamenei’s life in which the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, broke into the family home and beat the cleric, with the children later told their father was going on vacation. AP also said the family later moved to Tehran and that Mojtaba went on to fight in the Iran-Iraq war with the Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, which the article described as linked to the Revolutionary Guard’s future intelligence ascendancy.
AP further said Mojtaba Khamenei worked within his father’s offices in downtown Tehran as his own influence grew, and it cited U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks from the late 2000s describing him as “the power behind the robes.” Those cables, AP said, included allegations that Mojtaba had tapped his father’s phone and served as a “principal gatekeeper,” while also forming his own power base, and they described him as plausible for shared leadership despite what the cables characterized as a lack of theological qualifications and his age.
The Associated Press also tied Mojtaba Khamenei’s influence to the Revolutionary Guard, saying he worked closely with commanders of the Quds Force and with the Basij, which the article said had violently suppressed nationwide protests in January. It added that the United States sanctioned him in 2019 and said that action was tied to allegations that he worked to advance his father’s regional ambitions and domestic suppression, including backing associated with hard-line political outcomes in 2005 and 2009.
AP reported that the supreme leader’s role is central to Iran’s complex power-sharing system, with final say over state matters and as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the Revolutionary Guard. The article said the Guard, which the Associated Press described as leading the “Axis of Resistance” of militant groups and allies across the Middle East, also holds extensive wealth and controls Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal.
As Iran moves through its post-strike leadership uncertainty, the question of who can command the military apparatus and steer decisions tied to Iran’s nuclear-related capabilities remains, AP said, one of the key stakes for whoever emerges from the Assembly of Experts selection process.