E-Paper
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei? Iran names new Supreme Leader amid war with US, Israel
Before Mojtaba Khamenei's appointment, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi had been named as interim leader.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named as the new Supreme Leader of Iran. His appointment comes after Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the conflict with the United States and Israel.
Mojtaba's appointment comes after several senior clerics hinted that the successor will be related to Khamenei. Before his appointment, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi had been named as interim leader. Track LIVE updates on US Iran war here
Before Ali Khamenei's death, Mojtaba had been ruled out as a potential successor, as the slain Supreme Leader had wished for the top post to be determined by merit rather than be hereditary.
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?
Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is one of six children of the late supreme leader.
He is also the only child of the former supreme leader to hold a public position, despite having no official post.
The cleric, who has a salt-and-pepper beard and the black turban of the "seyyed", descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, has been presented by some as acting behind the scenes to pull strings at the heart of power in Iran.
Mojtaba is also regarded a close to conservatives, especially due to his close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Iranian military.
In 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Khamenei's son for representing the Supreme Leader despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father".
As per the US Treasury Department, Ali Khamenei had "delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities" to his son, "who worked closely" with Iranian security forces "to advance his father's destabilising regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives."
(with inputs from Reuters, AFP)
