Iran Reportedly Names Khamenei’s Son, Mojtaba, as New Supreme Leader

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly chosen Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s next Supreme Leader. According to a March 3 report by Iran International, the clerical body made the decision under intense pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The announcement follows the confirmed death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a coordinated US–Israeli military strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026 — a development that has plunged the Iranian system into a historic succession crisis.

Sources familiar with the decision told Iran International that Mojtaba’s election by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 senior clerics vested with the constitutional authority to choose the Supreme Leader, reflects the influence of the IRGC in shaping the post-Khamenei leadership transition.

The younger Khamenei, long considered a key figure within Iran’s conservative milieu and closely aligned with military and security elites, had previously been discussed as a potential successor — a topic of speculation given his lack of formal clerical rank required for the role.

His elevation marks a controversial—and possibly unprecedented—succession in Iran’s modern history, potentially signaling a consolidation of hard‑line power at a time of intensified internal pressure and external conflict, according to Ynetnews.

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The Assembly of Experts has not yet publicly confirmed the result, and prior reports indicated that an interim leadership council, including senior clerics and top officials such as Alireza Arafi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, had been established to oversee the transition while a permanent successor was selected.

Earlier, it was reported that Israeli intelligence and the CIA had assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a targeted daytime strike on his Tehran compound.

According reports, the meticulously planned operation relied on a cyber breach, with Israel hacking nearly all of Tehran’s traffic cameras. By combining this video surveillance with mobile phone interceptions, operatives mapped the daily routines of Khamenei’s security detail, securing the real-time data needed to pinpoint the exact moment to attack.

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