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View all search resultsIran names Khamenei's son Mojtaba as new supreme leader
In a lengthy statement, the assembly said that "after careful and extensive studies... in today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may Allah protect him) is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts."
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This handout picture taken in Tehran on October 3, 2024, and provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader, shows Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28, 2026 in a US-Israeli military strike. (AFP/AFP)
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ran's Assembly of Experts announced Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader on Sunday.
In a lengthy statement, the assembly said that "after careful and extensive studies... in today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may Allah protect him) is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts."
Mojtaba, a cleric with influence inside Iran's security forces and vast business networks under his father, had been viewed as a frontrunner in the lead-up to Sunday's vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics tasked with choosing Ali Khamenei's successor.
"By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts, appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Assembly said in a statement issued just after midnight Tehran time.
The position gives Mojtaba the final say in all matters of state in the Islamic Republic.
Mojtaba’s appointment will likely draw the ire of US President Donald Trump, who said on Sunday that Washington should have a say in the selection. "If he doesn't get approval from us, he's not going to last long," he told ABC News.
Israel, ahead of the announcement, threatened to target whoever was chosen.
In an interview with the Times of Israel after the new supreme leader was named, Trump declined to respond, saying only "We'll see what happens," according to the newspaper. Trump also said in the interview that ending the war would be a "mutual" decision with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mojtaba's father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was killed in one of the first strikes launched against Iran more than a week ago.
Washington on Sunday ordered the departure of non-emergency employees at its embassy in Saudi Arabia, the latest drawdown of US diplomats as Iran has struck US facilities in the region.
The US military reported a seventh American has died from wounds sustained during Iran's initial counter-attack a week ago, a day after Trump presided over the return to the United States of the remains of the six others killed.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's UN ambassador.
