The second son of the Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli-American air strikes - Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as the new Iranian ayatollah. The news was reported by the Iranian opposition media outlet “Iran International“, the Italian agency ANSA, the Israeli publication ynetnews and the Arab branch of “Sky” - “Sky News Arabia”, which emphasize, however, that Iranian official media have not yet confirmed the news, BTA reported.
Mojtaba is Khamenei's second son. He is 56 years old - he was born in Mashhad in September 1969. He is believed to have been Ali Khamenei's favorite son. He maintains very good relations with Iran's security forces. During his military service, he participated in the Iran-Iraq War from 1987 to 1988. He studied in Qom to become a religious leader.
Mojtaba is also much discussed for his wealth, which includes real estate in the West, including London and Frankfurt, as well as a large investment portfolio.
In 2005, he supported the hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for president of Iran. He is believed to have played a leading role in Ahmadinejad's re-election four years later, which then sparked a wave of protests.
According to „Iran International“ Mojtaba was named as the successor to the Ayatollah a year ago by his father.
In recent days, there have been reports that he was killed, but then the Iranian agency "Mehr" wrote that he was alive and well after the assassination attempt that killed Ali Khamenei and his wife.
According to "Sky News Arabia", Mojtaba's choice was made under pressure from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Mojtaba is a mid-level cleric who has strong ties to the IRGC, but has never held a government position, the Saudi publication "Ash Asharq Al-Awsat" recalled in a report yesterday.
According to ynetnews, Mojtaba has great influence behind the scenes. He supports the hardline camp in Iran and has the same views as his father. He insists on eliminating opponents of the regime. It is believed that he provided access to his father for those who wanted to push an idea past him.
His election, however, could pose a problem because it would appear that power is being transferred from father to son, which is what the Iranian revolution against the monarchy, in which power is inherited dynastically, was aimed at.
The ayatollah is elected by the 88-member Assembly of Experts. Earlier this week, it was claimed that the Assembly was hit by an Israeli strike on its building in Qom, but Iranian media said that the members of the Assembly were not there during the attack.
In 2019, the US imposed sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei.