Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son has been wounded in the Iran war, it emerged today after he was named as the country’s new Supreme Leader.
Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was announced as his successor on Sunday after being appointed by the regime’s 88-person assembly – despite previous opposition from his father.
The ‘vengeful’ hardline cleric is already marked for assassination by Israel after it vowed to ‘eliminate’ whoever succeded the slain Ayatollah, having killed him and Mojtaba’s wife Zahra Haddad-Adel in strikes on the first day of the conflict.
In one report on his ascension to Supreme Leader on Iranian state TV, it refers to him as being wounded in the war.
The anchor describes him as ‘janbaz’, or wounded by the enemy, in the ‘Ramadan war,’ which is how media in Iran refer to the current conflict.
It does not elaborate on how he was injured, although his wife and father were killed in Israeli strikes on Tehran.
The report also claimed that Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since the beginning of the war, is fluent in English, and has completed psychology courses.
It also stated he is knowledgeable about modern technologies, military sciences and security affairs, as well as political principles and the country’s executive requirements.
The new Supreme Leader 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 media.
Father-to-son succession is viewed negatively in the Shiite Muslim clerical establishment in Iran and Mojtaba is not a high-ranking cleric, has never held office and did not have an official role in the regime until now.
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.
But having been selected as Iran’s Supreme Leader, he will look to exact revenge for the killing on his father, according to one Iran expert.
They told BBC Radio 4: ‘He is vengeful. They have killed his father and he won’t let it go.
If he can’t get revenge on the US, he will take his revenge on ordinary people.’
Parham Ghobadi, from BBC’s Persian service, claimed he ‘has taken the most dangerous job in the world because the Americans and Israelis have vowed to target the next leader, saying the next leader of Iran is going to be a legitimate target for assassination.’
He added: ‘There have been rumours around him that he is going to be the next leader since the protests in 2009, people were chanting in the streets “Mojtaba we hope you die. You’ll never become the next leader”.
‘So the rumours were there for decades that he’d be the next leader… But overall he’s a shadow.
‘Now the person who has never been officially in charge has suddenly consumed power and become the next leader of Iran at such a critical time.’
The Israeli military has already warned it will ‘pursue every successor’ of Ali Khamenei.
In a post on X in Farsi, the IDF said: ‘After neutralizing the tyrant Khamenei, the terrorist regime of Iran is attempting to rebuild itself and select a new leader.
‘We want to tell you that the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor.’
Mojtaba Khamenei’s potential impact on the escalating conflict in the Middle East was laid bare in the moments after his succession was confirmed, with videos showing regime supporters chanting his name and urging more strikes.
Large crowds in Tehran waved Iranian flags and shouted, ‘Allahu Akbar, Khamenei Rahbar’, meaning: ‘God is great, Khamenei is the leader.’
More ominous still, the Iranian military vowed to respond to any Israeli attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure by striking oil sites across the region – after Israel targeted reserves the night before.
Just eight days after Ali Khamenei was blown up at his desk in Israeli airstrikes, his son took over as Supreme Leader – breaking convention in Iran which warns against father-son succession.
But much of Iran’s top brass has been decimated in the latest conflict and Khamenei has close ties with the powerful IRGC and the Basij volunteer paramilitary force.
Under Iran’s Islamic guardianship system, the Supreme Leader must be a senior leader with significant political authority.
While Khamenei has not held senior political roles, he studied under religious conservatives in Islamic seminaries in the Shiite holy city Qom.
Khamenei has previously been branded ‘unacceptable’ by US President Donald Trump who this week made his feelings clear about the Ayatollah’s son.
Mr Trump said somewhat sarcastically that ‘at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like’ to replace Khamenei.
The US President has said he would personally select a new leader and Khamenei’s son was ‘unlikely’ and ‘unacceptable’.
Just hours earlier, he doubled down on his threats against Iran’s next Supreme Leader, telling them they will not last long without his support.
Israel has already said it will eliminate whoever takes charge while Trump has demanded the final say.
Speaking on Sunday, the US President told ABC News: ‘He’s going to have to get approval from us.
‘If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.’
Khamenei 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.
Born in 1969 in the holy city of Mashhad, he grew up as his father was helping to lead the opposition to the Shah.
His wife and his mother, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, are among the dead from Israeli strikes.
After a secondary education at the religious Alavi School, Khamenei spent a few short stints in the military during the Iran-Iraq War, according to Iranian media.
He then continued his religious studies in 1999 in the holy city of Qom, while maintaining a low profile – in contrast to his father.
Indeed, the new Supreme Leader has been pictured very few times and has never given an official interview.
Though rarely photographed and without an official government position on his CV, Khamenei has long been viewed as an influence on his father, the Ayatollah.
US diplomatic cables previously described him as ‘the power behind the robes’ and one of the key players within the regime.
While Khamenei has not held senior political roles, he studied under religious conservatives in Islamic seminaries in the Shiite holy city Qom.
Despite being sanctioned by the US in 2019, Khamenei is said to oversee an investment empire of over £100million, with access to luxury properties in north London and bank accounts in the UK, Switzerland, UAE and Liechtenstein.
Khamenei is said to own 11 properties on The Bishops Avenue – an exclusive street in Hampstead, north London, also known as ‘Billionaires’ Row’.
