Mojtaba Khamenei is the third supreme leader of Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Unlike his two predecessors, Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei, his father, the new head of the Iranian regime is not a senior Shia cleric. He has also not played a leading political role, at least not in public, though he was the effective deputy chief of staff of his father, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike on 28 February at the onset of the war against Iran.
However, according to a diplomat who has served in Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second of six children, is far from having been uninfluential.
“He was always there. He was always keeping an eye on things, and in a sense he was always grooming himself for power through strengthening relations with the most important institute in the country, namely the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC),” the diplomat said.
There is no secret that Mojtaba was a hopeful contender for the leadership even before the escalation of the confrontation between his country and the US and Israel after the 12-day war in June last year.
His name had been circulated, though it was argued that being the son of the then sitting supreme leader would work against him, much more than his low clerical position, compared to other contenders including Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who served as interim supreme leader for a week following the killing of the 87-year-old Khamenei.
Arafi is a senior cleric with a strong standing in Iran’s religious and political hierarchy.
“If Ali Khamenei had died in a different way, Mojtaba’s chances would not have been high simply because the idea of succession from father to son is incompatible with the creed of the Iranian Revolution,” the diplomat said.
He argued that this was the case despite the fact that a number of “political families” have dominated the scene in Iran since the revolution in 1979.
It is not clear whether it was the wish of Ali Khamenei for his son to be the third supreme leader of the country, especially at this moment of chaos.
“It seemed that he thought his son was up to the job, which is effectively the top job in the country, not that of the president,” the diplomat said. However, he added it is not clear whether Khamenei would have endorsed the succession, especially at a time of war for the Islamic Republic.
But the key question is whether or not Khamenei junior is the favourite choice of the surviving leaders of the IRGC, “because at the moment it is the IRGC whose word has to be heard,” the diplomat said.
“It is now clear that he had enough support within the IRGC, which is sending a clear message of resilience to the US and Israel by appointing a supreme leader who is known to be a hardliner,” he added.
The choice of Mojtaba Khamenei is a sign of the regime’s survival, but there is still the question of whether he will be targeted by the Israelis and Americans.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has threatened to target any successor to Ali Khamenei. US President Donald Trump also expressed his irritation at the choice, which was made by the 88-member Assembly of Experts, a deliberative body, on 8 March.
Mojtaba Khamenei is uncompromising about quelling protests against the regime and consolidating Iran’s regional influence through militant groups like Hizbullah, the diplomat said.
“Mojtaba is the reply of the IRGC to Trump, who said he was bringing democracy and freedom to Iran,” he added.
In September 1969, only ten years before the Islamic Revolution broke out, Mojtaba Khamenei was born in the holy Shia city of Mashhad. In 1987, only one year before his father became supreme leader, he joined the IRGC, then emerging as the leading political-military force in the country.
Shortly after that, he took part in the Iran-Iraq War that lasted for eight years between 1981 and 1988. Later, he pursued seminary studies at the most prestigious Shia school of theology in Iran.
While Mojtaba Khamenei has not reached the rank of ayatollah, the top-ranking title in Shia Islam, the best part of his career has been dedicated to teaching.
However, he is best known for his role as the confidant of his father, the country’s supreme leader for close to four decades. He is also known for his rapport with influential figures in Iran’s political/military hierarchy like Ahmad Vahidi of the IRGC, arguably the most influential man in Iran today.
“I think it is the ‘legitimacy of blood’ that made Mojtaba the country’s supreme leader,” the diplomat said. He added that there is now a “blood feud” with the US and Israel, which killed his father, his mother Mansoureh Bagherzadeh, and his wife Zahra Haddad-Adel.
The latter was the daughter of conservative politician and former parliamentary speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel. Zahra and Mojtaba were married in 1999, in what was perceived as a political marriage. “Creating political alliances through marriage is typical in Iran, especially in the more conservative wing of the country’s political leaders,” the diplomat said.
The couple had three children, one of whom was reportedly killed in the US-Israeli strike that killed the country’s supreme leader.
“There is no way of confirming who really died in these strikes, and we don’t know whether or not Mojtaba later lost more people, including his supposedly surviving son and daughter, who might also have got injured in the strikes of 28 February,” the diplomat said.
He added that the issue today is not whether the new supreme leader has reasons to be antagonistic to Israel and the US. “There is no question that Mojtaba will be more of a hardliner than ever before, not just because this would be his personal choice, but because this has become the choice of the regime,” the diplomat stated.
Another question, he said, was whether Mojtaba Khamenei will dominate in the way his father did.
“Some, especially in Western quarters, doubt that Mojtaba will be as dominating as Ali Khamenei. But this is a premature and not very insightful assessment,” the diplomat said. “The assumption that Mojtaba will have to work in association, or under the shadow, of Vahidi is wrong in my opinion,” he said.
“Mojtaba is a very private and reserved person. He might not have the eloquence of his father, and he might not be up to making grand speeches that will be closely followed by diplomats and political analysts, but he should not be underestimated,” the diplomat said.
He added that during the past few years with the increasingly frail health of Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba had been becoming more and more influential.
“I have heard some diplomats in Tehran saying that he was effectively the third man in the country over the past few years, coming second after the supreme leader and the chief of the IRGC,” the diplomat said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 12 March, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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