Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is emerging as a possible candidate to succeed his father after an Israeli airstrike killed the cleric at the start of the war last week, reports AP.
Long considered a potential contender for Iran’s top position, Mojtaba Khamenei had already been discussed within political circles as a possible successor even before the airstrike. His father’s death has now brought renewed attention to his role within the Islamic Republic’s power structure.
Despite his influence behind the scenes, Mojtaba Khamenei has never held an elected office or been formally appointed to a government post.
A secretive figure within Iran’s political system, he has not appeared publicly since Saturday, when the Israeli strike targeting the supreme leader’s offices killed the 86-year-old cleric.
Also killed in the attack was his wife Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family closely linked to Iran’s religious establishment.
Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to still be alive and is likely in hiding as Israeli and American airstrikes continue across Iran, although state-run Iranian media have not disclosed his whereabouts.
His name has circulated repeatedly in discussions about who might replace the late supreme leader, though such a succession has previously drawn criticism from those who say it risks turning Iran’s religious leadership into a hereditary system similar to the monarchy that ruled before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The circumstances surrounding his father’s death may strengthen his position among conservative clerics.
Hard-line supporters of the Islamic Republic have described both Ali Khamenei and Zahra Haddad Adel as martyrs in the conflict with Israel and the United States.
Analysts say this perception could increase Mojtaba Khamenei’s standing among the clerical establishment, particularly within the Assembly of Experts.
The 88-member body is responsible for selecting Iran’s next supreme leader.
Whoever assumes the role will inherit sweeping authority over the state and its military forces at a time when Iran is already engaged in conflict.
The position also carries control over a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could potentially be used to build a nuclear weapon if authorised.
Mojtaba Khamenei has often been compared to Ahmad Khomeini, the son of Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Like him, he has been described as acting as a close aide and intermediary to the country’s top leader.
United Against Nuclear Iran, a pressure group based in the United States, described his role as “a combination of aide-de-camp, confidant, gatekeeper and power broker.”
Born in 1969 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Mojtaba Khamenei grew up during a period of political upheaval in Iran.
His childhood coincided with the period leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
An official biography of Ali Khamenei recounts an incident in which the shah’s secret police, SAVAK, raided their home and beat the cleric.
After the attack, the elder Khamenei initially told his children he was going away on holiday, but later decided to tell them the truth about the incident.
Following the fall of the monarchy, the Khamenei family moved to Tehran.
Mojtaba Khamenei later fought in the Iran-Iraq war as part of the Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, a division linked to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Several members of that unit later rose to senior intelligence roles within the Guard.
Ali Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader in 1989.
As his father consolidated power, Mojtaba Khamenei gained access to the extensive financial and institutional networks associated with the country’s religious foundations, known as bonyads.
These foundations manage vast business assets and wealth drawn from state industries and properties once controlled by the shah.
His own influence grew over the years through his work within his father’s office in Tehran.
Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s referred to Mojtaba Khamenei as “the power behind the robes.”
One cable alleged he monitored his father’s communications and acted as the supreme leader’s principal gatekeeper while building his own network of allies.
The document described him as a capable and forceful figure within the system, though it also noted that he lacked the traditional theological credentials typically associated with Iran’s clerical leadership.
Despite that limitation, some insiders reportedly viewed him as a plausible candidate for leadership following his father’s death.
Mojtaba Khamenei has also maintained close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
According to the United States Treasury, he has worked closely with commanders of both the Guard’s Quds Force and its Basij militia.
The Basij played a key role in suppressing nationwide protests in Iran.
The United States imposed sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei in 2019 during the first administration of US President Donald Trump.
Washington accused him of helping advance what it described as his father’s destabilising regional policies and domestic repression.
He has also faced accusations of influencing Iranian politics from behind the scenes.
Among the allegations are claims that he supported the rise of hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 and backed his disputed re-election in 2009, which triggered the Green Movement protests.
Mahdi Karroubi, a presidential candidate in both elections, accused him of interfering in the vote.
Ali Khamenei reportedly rejected that criticism at the time, defending his son’s role.
Iran has experienced only one previous transition in the position of supreme leader.
Ruhollah Khomeini held the post from the revolution until his death in 1989, when Ali Khamenei was chosen to succeed him.
The next leader will assume power at a moment of acute tension.
Iran faces ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States, which have said their military operations aim to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and weaken its military capabilities.
The supreme leader occupies the central position in Iran’s political system.
He holds ultimate authority over the state, serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and oversees the Revolutionary Guard.
The Guard, which leads the so-called Axis of Resistance network of regional allies and militant groups, also controls major economic assets and Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
