According to informed sources cited by Iran International and The New York Times, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly been elected as the next Supreme Leader of Iran.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28 when he was in his 'compound'. Along with him, his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter also died.
If confirmed, this would represent only the second instance in the 47-year history of the Islamic Republic in which the Assembly of Experts has appointed a Supreme Leader.
The war, triggered by Israeli and US attacks that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has intensified with both sides trading air strikes, fuelling concerns over regional stability and global oil markets.
Earlier, Israel carried out a strike targeting a meeting of Iran’s top leadership body as officials gathered to select a new Supreme Leader. The strike hit while members of the Supreme Council of Iran were in session and “counting the votes for the appointment of the supreme leader.”
According to The New York Times report, some clerics had initially expressed reservations, fearing that naming him could expose him as a direct target for the United States and Israel, consensus ultimately consolidated around his candidacy. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is an influential but reclusive figure who has long operated in the shadows of his father’s political and religious establishment. His election comes days after Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.