TEHRAN — Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly been appointed as the country’s new supreme leader following his father’s death in joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.
Iranian opposition outlet Iran International reported that the 56-year-old was selected by the Assembly of Experts under pressure from the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iranian authorities have not publicly confirmed the appointment.
Mojtaba Khamenei is not a senior cleric and has never held formal government office, though he is believed to wield influence behind the scenes and has longstanding ties to the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij paramilitary force.
He has been mentioned for years as a potential successor to his 86-year-old father, despite opposition within Iran’s clerical establishment to hereditary succession.
🚨🇮🇷 BREAKING
Iran has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader of Iran.
He says his first priority will be to take revenge on those behind his father’s killing, and his second priority will be to free Palestine and end Israel. pic.twitter.com/VIvyfFDf9L
— Zard si Gana (@ZardSi) March 3, 2026
The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body responsible for appointing and overseeing the supreme leader, met in the holy city of Qom after Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes over the weekend.
The building where the assembly convened was later hit by additional airstrikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The escalation comes amid days of heavy fighting between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces. President Donald Trump said the initial wave of strikes had eliminated several potential successors to Khamenei and warned that further attacks could follow.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the killing of the supreme leader as a “religious crime” and vowed consequences.
Iranian forces have continued launching retaliatory attacks across the region, including reported drone strikes targeting U.S. facilities in the Gulf.