Who will be the new leader of Iran?
What are the concerns about the election of Mojtaba Khamenei?
What qualifications does Mojtaba Khamenei have?
What is known about Mojtaba Khamenei's net worth?
This is Ali Khamenei's possible successor. They point to his son Mojtaba Khamenei.
Ali Khamenei led Iran for nearly 37 years. Shortly after the ayatollah's death was confirmed, information appeared that the election of his successor should take a maximum of a few days. On Tuesday, the first unofficial information said that The Assembly of Experts (an 88-member committee of Iranian clerics) elected his son Mojtaba Khamenei as Ali Khamenei's successor.
The New York Times writes that some Iranian officials fear that the official announcement of a new leader could provoke intensified US and Israeli airstrikes. Meetings to elect a new leader were to be held online. For many years, Mojtaba Khamenei played an important role as an intermediary between his father and state security structures.
Mojtaba Khamenei in 2019Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images
“He has long been tipped to be the successor. However, in the last two years he seemed to have somewhat faded into the background. If elected, it would suggest that a much more radical faction of the Iranian army is currently in power,” Vali Nasr, an expert on Iran and Shiite Islam at Johns Hopkins University, told the New York Times.
Mojtaba Khamenei is “the most reasonable choice.” He knows how to run an army
Mojtaba Khamenei has close ties to the Iranian army. According to information from “NYT”, the military put pressure on his election, emphasizing that he had the appropriate competences to lead the country during the crisis.
According to analyst Mehdi Rahmati, Mojtaba is “currently the most reasonable choice”. In an interview with “NYT” he pointed out that Ali Khamenei's son “is very knowledgeable in directing and coordinating the activities of the security and military apparatus.” He notes, however, that his choice may arouse resistance from some people in Iran – they may perceive him as a continuator of the regime whose actions have led to the death of thousands of people in recent months.
Mojtab KhameneiROUZBEH FOULADI / MIDDLE EAST IMAGES / MIDDLE EAST IMAGES VIA AFP / AFP
Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969. After graduating from high school, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Iranian army) and served in it at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Later he began religious education, and in the late 1990s he studied at the theological seminary in Kom. Over time, he began teaching there.
Mojtaba's choice to succeed his father could be seen as a continuation of the regime's actions. However, Abdolreza Davari, a politician close to Mojtaba before the outbreak of the war, stated in an interview with “NYT” that Ali's son is “extremely progressive and will strive to sideline the radicals.” “Consider his nomination as a shedding of skin,” he noted.
Nevertheless, in 2019, the US Department of State placed Mojtaba Khamenei under sanctions. The American authorities justified this decision by his close cooperation with his father in maintaining the repressive regime and participation in activities destabilizing the region.
Mojtaba Khamenei has enormous wealth. Properties in London and Dubai
In January 2026, Bloomberg revealed that Mojtaba Khamenei was linked to an offshore financial network used to hold and transfer assets outside Iran. The reported assets include high-value properties, including: in London and Dubai. These assets are managed by intermediaries. As a result of increased scrutiny, some of them were sold or restructured.
The funds financing the network came mainly from the sale of crude oil and were transferred through financial institutions in many countries despite the sanctions imposed on Khamenei.
