Mojtaba Khamenei


Mojtaba Khamenei
مجتبی خامنه‌ای
Ayatollah Khamenei, age 57, in clerical clothing
Khamenei in 2026
3rd Supreme Leader of Iran
Assumed office
8 March 2026
PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian
Preceded byAli Khamenei
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Supreme Leader
(Political and Security Affairs)
In office
21 August 2008 – 8 March 2026
Supreme Leader
Chief of StaffMohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born
Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei

(1969-09-08) 8 September 1969 (age 57)
Mashhad, Iran
Spouse(s)
Zahra Haddad-Adel
​
​
(m. 1999; died 2026)​
Children3
Parents
RelativesKhamenei family
EducationQom Seminary
Political affiliationFront of Islamic Revolution Stability (patron)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Iran
Branch/service Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Years of service
Unit 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division (1987–1988)
Commands
Basij (de facto)
Battles/wars
Personal
ReligionIslam
DenominationTwelver Shi'a
JurisprudenceJa'fari
CreedUsuli
Khamenei in 2019

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (born 8 September 1969) is an Iranian politician and cleric who has been the third Supreme Leader of Iran since 8 March 2026. He is the second oldest child of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Khamenei served in the Iran–Iraq War from 1987 to 1988.

Early life

Khamenei was born in Mashhad into the Azeri–Persian Khamenei family. He was nine when his father emerged as a leading figure in the Iranian Revolution. He studied in Sardasht and Mahabad, and graduated high school from Tehran and Islamic theology.

Khamenei joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1987 and was in the Iran–Iraq War. In 1999, he continued his studies in Qom to become a cleric, and joined the Qom Seminary as a theological teacher afterwards. He took control of the Basij paramilitary volunteer militia in 2009.

Supreme Leader of Iran

Mojtaba Khamenei and other members of the Qom Seminary, March 2016

Mojtaba Khamenei was seen as one of the likely candidates to replace his father as the new Supreme Leader following his father's assassination. Mojtaba Khamenei was seen as the favorite candidate by the IRGC. Khamenei himself was a target in the middle strikes that killed his father, wife and children, however he survived because he was out in the garden seconds before his father’s home was attacked.

When the Supreme Leader election took place in early March, several council members were against Khamenei's candidacy. including eight who stated that they would boycott a second online electoral meeting planned for 5 March. On 5 March 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he did not support Khamenei becoming supreme leader. On 8 March 2026, the 88-person Assembly of Experts announced that Khamenei was elected Supreme Leader. Unlike other supreme leaders or cleric leaders, Khamenei never led a sermon in public, ran for public office, or had a major clerical leadership role before becoming supreme leader.

Personal life

Mojtaba teaches theology in the Qom Seminary. He married Zahra Haddad-Adel, a daughter of Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, in 1999. Their first child was born in 2007. The first son is Mohamed Amin, followed by daughter Fatemeh Sadaat, and second son Mohamed Bagher. His wife, his parents, and one of his sons were killed in the 2026 US–Israeli strikes.

Scholarly career

Khamenei taught theology in the Qom Seminary; from 2004 he taught Kharij-e Fiqh (advanced jurisprudence) courses for approximately two decades and was considered the instructor of one of the most heavily attended advanced seminary classes. The Dars-e Kharij is the highest level of jurisprudential instruction and a prerequisite for attaining the rank of mujtahid, a scholar qualified to perform independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) in Islamic law.

Notes

  1. ↑ Between Ali Khamenei's death on 28 February and Mojtaba Khamenei's election on 8 March, the Interim Leadership Council was tasked with handing the duties of the supreme leader.
  2. ↑ This was the earliest alleged date he served in this position. The actual day, month, and year of his appointment is not known.
  3. ↑ Persian: مجتبی حسینی خامنه‌ای

References

  1. ↑ Reals, Tucker (1 March 2026). "Iran names three men for interim Leadership Council to pick next supreme leader". CBS News. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Mojtaba Khamenei: The shadow prince who rose to became Iran's supreme leader". Iran International. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "Mojtaba Khamenei and Mahdi Hashemi". Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Borger, Julian (8 July 2009). "Khamenei's son takes control of Iran's anti-protest militia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  5. ↑ Sahimi, Mohammad (20 August 2009). "Nepotism & the Larijani Dynasty". Los Angeles: PBS. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  6. 1 2 Diba, Bahman Aghai (4 March 2011). "Supreme Leader of Iran and His Successor". Payvand. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (4 March 2026). "Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba favourite to succeed him as Iran's supreme leader". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "Iran crisis: Ayatollah's son Mojtaba Khamenei elected as successor of slain Supreme Leader - report". The Times of India. 4 March 2026. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  9. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (2 March 2026). "Trump says top candidates to take over Iran but were killed in initial strikes". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Fleishman, Jeffrey (25 June 2009). "Iran supreme leader's son seen as power broker with big ambitions". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Parpanchi, Mehdi (4 March 2026). "A wartime succession in Iran: why the IRGC backed Mojtaba Khamenei". Iran International. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Mojtaba Khamenei Escaped With His Life Because He Was Walking In The Garden, Says Report: 'They Hit That Location With Three Missiles'". Yahoo. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Guards push fast Mojtaba Khamenei announcement amid dissent over hereditary rule". Iran International. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "Guards push fast Mojtaba Khamenei announcement amid dissent over hereditary rule". Iran International. 5 March 2026. Wikidata Q138576524. Archived from the original on 5 March 2026.
  15. ↑ Zachary Basu; Barak Ravid (5 March 2026). "Exclusive: Trump says he must be involved in picking Iran's next leader". Axios. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Iranian Council of Experts Elects Mojtaba Khamenei as New Supreme Leader". The Eastern Herald. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  17. ↑ Tondo, Lorenzo (8 March 2026). "Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba chosen as Iran's new supreme leader". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader amid war?". Al Jazeera. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Turani, Behrouz (2026-03-08). "Mojtaba Khamenei: The shadow prince who became Iran's supreme leader". Iran International. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  20. ↑ "5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MOJTABA KHAMENEI". FDD. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Iran's Political Elite". United States Institute of Peace. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  22. ↑ Tait, Robert (26 February 2008). "Ahmadinejad favors his relatives". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  23. ↑ Bazoobandi, Sara (11 January 2013). "The 2013 presidential election in Iran" (PDF). MEI Insight. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  24. ↑ Chandelier, Alain (8 March 2026). "Explainer: Who is Mojtaba Khamenei and how did he succeed his father?". Euronews. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  25. ↑ Azar, Masoud (9 March 2026). "مجتبی خامنه‌ای‌، رهبر جدید جمهوری اسلامی کیست؟" [Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new leader of the Islamic Republic?]. BBC Dari. Retrieved 9 March 2026. Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the father of Mojtaba Khamenei's wife, recounts a quote from Ali Khamenei about the marriage proposal and wedding ceremony of his daughter in the year 1999…
  26. ↑ "Expat source's information and views on Mojtaba Khamenei". The Telegraph. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  27. ↑ Fassihi, Farnaz (3 March 2026). "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Son Emerges as Leading Choice to Be His Successor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  28. ↑ "Daughter and grandchild of Iran's Khamenei killed in US-Israeli strikes, state media says". Reuters. 28 February 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  29. ↑ "A son of Iran's late supreme leader is a possible candidate to replace his father as war rages". Arab News. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.

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