Iran has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, in recent U.S.–Israeli strikes on Tehran.
The decision was announced by Iranian state media after approval from the Assembly of Experts, the powerful clerical body responsible for appointing the country’s highest authority.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old Shiite cleric, becomes Iran’s third supreme leader and now holds ultimate authority over the country’s military, judiciary and key state institutions.
His elevation marks the first time Iran’s supreme leadership has effectively passed from father to son since the Iranian Revolution.
Born in 1969, Khamenei studied Islamic theology at seminaries in Qom and later became a cleric and teacher.
Although he never held an elected government position, he developed significant influence behind the scenes in Iran’s political and security structures, particularly through close ties with the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij paramilitary force.
He also fought briefly in the Iran–Iraq War before pursuing religious studies.
