Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly been appointed Iran‘s new Supreme Leader.
Mojtaba, 56, Ali Khamenei’s second oldest son, has strong links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts ‘under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards’, according to Iranian opposition outlet Iran International.
Mojtaba is not a high-ranking cleric, has never held office and does not have an official role in the regime.
But he served in the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq war and is believed to wield considerable influence behind the scenes. He has been touted as a possible successor to his father for years.
However, he was not included in a list of three senior clerics Ali Khamenei reportedly identified last year.
And his father is said to have indicated opposition to his candidacy because it would resemble the hereditary rule enacted by the US-backed Shah monarchy before it was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Father-to-son succession is also viewed negatively in the Shiite Muslim clerical establishment in Iran.
But much of Iran’s top brass has been decimated in the latest conflict and Mojtaba has close ties with the powerful IRGC and the Basij volunteer paramilitary force.
Hellbound and Down 