Iran's Assembly of Experts has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, state media reported on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the powerful Revolutionary Guards, has long been considered by members of the Tehran regime as a potential successor to his father, who was killed after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
Although the dominant ideology in Iran disapproves of the principle of hereditary succession, he has strong influence within the Guard and in his father's still influential office.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has never held a government position, according to SkyNews. He survived last weekend's military attacks on Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei's name has been floated in recent days as a possible successor to his father, even though Ali Khamenei denied such a scenario in 2024, while the Islamic Revolution ended centuries of hereditary monarchy in 1979, AFP notes.
