After the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Israeli-American attacks, the country has got a new leader. According to Israeli media, Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has been elected as the next supreme leader of Iran.
According to reports, he was elected by Iran’s Expert Assembly as Khamenei’s successor. In the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the position of Supreme Leader is the most powerful. This post is for life and is elected by the Assembly of Experts. Recently, a crisis of power arose in the country after the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February 2026.
Khamenei, who ruled the country for nearly 36 years, died in joint attacks by America and Israel. They were in their homes at the time of the attacks. His daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were also killed along with him. Khamenei’s wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, also died. During his tenure as Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei exercised strong control over foreign policy, the military and religious affairs.
After Khamenei’s death, an interim regime was put in place, in which the President, judges and a member of the Guardian Council temporarily assumed responsibility. But soon reports came that the Assembly of Experts had elected Motaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader. Motaba Khamenei, born on 8 September 1969, is the second son of Ali Khamenei. He is a mid-level Shia cleric and has long been influential behind the scenes in politics and security matters.
Motaba has deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia. For many years he has been considered a possible successor to his father, although the Iranian Revolution considers dynastic succession un-Islamic, making the decision controversial.
After the death of Ali Khamenei, a crisis of power arose in the country. A meeting of experts was hastily called by the 88-member religious body. According to reports, this decision has been taken under pressure from IRGC. This is the first time in the history of Iran that the post of supreme leader has passed directly to the son after the death of the father.
This change may make Iran’s internal politics more rigid. Motaba is considered a radical, which could increase tensions with America, Israel and Western countries. At the same time, opposition forces within Iran may see it as a monarchy, which is against the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran is currently at war, and the new leader will try to consolidate power with the help of the IRGC.