Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader following his father’s death in a joint U.S.–Israeli strike.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the country’s supreme leader, announced on Sunday that a majority of its members voted to appoint the 56-year-old cleric as the Islamic Republic’s third supreme leader since the 1979 revolution.

The announcement came just over a week after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who ruled Iran for nearly four decades — was killed in the strike. His tenure was marked by strong opposition to the United States and Israel, as well as resistance to political reform or modernization inside Iran.

A Choice Seen as Preserving the Status Quo

Analysts say Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment signals continuity rather than change.

The younger Khamenei has long maintained close ties with Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military and political force that plays a central role in the country’s security and regional influence.

Iran specialist Afshon Ostovar told NPR that among possible successors, Mojtaba Khamenei was seen as the candidate most closely aligned with the IRGC.

“Of all the candidates that were put out there, he was the one that was closest to the IRGC,” Ostovar said, adding that his selection suggests the leadership wants “to preserve as much of the status quo as possible.”

Despite his influence behind the scenes, Mojtaba Khamenei remains a relatively mysterious figure. He has never held a formal government position and rarely appears in public.

From Revolutionary Family to Clerical Power

Born in 1969 in the holy city of Mashhad, Mojtaba Khamenei is the second of six children of the late supreme leader.

After Iran’s 1979 revolution, the family moved to Tehran as his father rose through the ranks of the new Islamic Republic, serving as president before becoming supreme leader in 1989.

Mojtaba attended Tehran’s elite Alavi High School and later joined the Revolutionary Guard, serving during the final years of the Iran–Iraq War.

He later pursued theological studies in the clerical center of Qom, earning the rank of hujjat al-Islam, which is below the senior clerical title of ayatollah.

His political connections were further strengthened through his marriage to Zahra Haddad Adel, daughter of conservative political figure Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel, a former parliament speaker and close ally of the late supreme leader.

Iranian state media reported that his wife, along with other family members, was killed in the same strike that killed his father on February 28.

Accusations of Behind-the-Scenes Influence

For years, Mojtaba Khamenei has been accused by analysts, dissidents, and Western governments of quietly wielding power inside Iran’s political system.

In 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him and his father-in-law, alleging that he represented the supreme leader in an official capacity despite holding no elected or appointed government position.

According to the U.S., he worked closely with leaders of the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij paramilitary force, which has been involved in suppressing domestic protests.

He has also been linked by critics to political maneuvering during Iran’s presidential elections, including the rise of hard-line former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the disputed 2009 election that triggered massive protests.

A Controversial Succession

Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment has already sparked controversy internationally and domestically.

Israeli officials warned on social media that he could become a military target even before the announcement, while U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed him as “unacceptable” and called him “a lightweight.”

His selection may also prove unpopular among some Iranians, who have staged protests in recent years over economic hardship and political repression.

Critics say the succession resembles a hereditary transfer of power — an irony in a country whose 1979 revolution overthrew a monarchy.

Meanwhile, tensions across the region remain high as Iran continues strikes against Israel and Gulf states. Oil markets reacted sharply to the developments, with crude prices surging past $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.