Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who has been appointed as the new head of the Islamic republic, is a discreet figure who offers continuity of his father's hardline leadership. The Islamic republic's third supreme leader also received endorsements from President Masoud Pezeshkian, the armed forces and the judiciary within hours of his appointment. He was named supreme leader by Iran's top clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, in a statement published shortly after midnight on Monday (2030 GMT Sunday). Born on September 8, 1969 in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is the only one of the late supreme leader's six children to hold a public position. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed aged 86 during the first wave of US-Israeli air strikes on Tehran that triggered the war in the Middle East on February 28.

Source: Indian Express March 09, 2026 09:27 UTC