Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the body charges with electing and supervising (in theory) the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei the son of the slain Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to succeed to his father’s post. The motion to elect him, under pressure from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Corpse (IRGC) is not a popular move and has been seen by some to entrench a new political dynasty. Mojtaba’s election comes amid Air Strikes across Iran by the United States (US) and Israel.
The son of the assassinated second supreme leader, the new ayatollah-in-chief, is only 56. He is, as all leading clerics in Iran must be, close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which dominates the security structures and the Iranian economy. The force is the backbone of the regime and far from being so broken and crippled that Iranians can, in Trump’s fantasy version of reality, rise against their oppressors, it has been able to strengthen its control over the country. Israel and the US, meanwhile, are systematically bombarding Iran’s oil industry and its refineries. The result is that Tehran’s sewers, flooded with oil, have exploded, and the Iranian capital is now suffering oil-drenched acid rain in an apocalyptic vision that might excite (US Secretary for War Pete) Hegseth and (President Donald) Trump – but heralds only chaos and worse to come.
The U.S. military, under its current commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, is fighting a protracted war in Iran that some argue may prove worse than the wars waged in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam combined. Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardliner, lost both his parents, his sister, brother-in-law, and his wife in U.S.-led airstrikes on the Supreme Leader’s Tehran compound over a week ago. He is unlikely to allow Washington or Tel Aviv to dispose of him as easily as they did his elderly father. Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have opened a Pandora’s box with the launch of these airstrikes. Their decision to target Iran’s oil refinery installations has sparked an environmental catastrophe, adding fuel to an uncontrollable fire. Under Mojtaba’s leadership, Iran may find a way to strike back against the American and Israeli regimes, depending on how the country and its leadership respond to the current onslaught.
In 2005 he (Mojtaba) was accused of meddling in presidential elections after conservative candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the race. Reformist elements within the government, including Mehdi Karroubi, one of Ahmadinejad’s competitors, accused the “master’s son” of interfering. His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said his son “is a master himself, not a master’s son”. The Guardian reported that in 2009, Mojtaba Khamenei took over the Basij, an Iranian paramilitary group, in order to quell anti-government protests over the elections that year. He is reported to own over 11 luxury properties in the UK through shell companies, according to a Bloomberg investigation. The buildings are valued at over $138m (£103m), including one on Bishop’s Avenue in north London, also known as Billionaire’s Row.
Mojtaba Khamenei is certainly an influential, formidable, and wealthy figure in Iran. As a hard-line conservative, he most likely already held a low opinion of the United States. This has now hardened into burning hatred following the airstrikes that killed his family and devastated Iran. Mojtaba is both ruthless and calculating, yet still relatively young at fifty-six. He may learn from his father’s mistakes and arrange his security detail to include only those he trusts to keep his location secret. There will always be risks regarding who knows his habits and whereabouts inside Iran. He can no longer travel to his luxury properties in London, United Kingdom, but he can respond to U.S. and Israeli aggression in the region through the Iranian regime’s network of proxy groups.
It remains to be seen how Mojtaba will assert himself in his new role. The so‑called Islamic Republic he now leads shows no sign of collapsing, and the war itself will not end easily. The Houthi and Hezbollah militant groups remain at his disposal.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
