Iranian official media informed that Mojtaba Khamenei (56), the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named the country’s new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts.
An official statement released on Sunday (8th March) read, “By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The task of appointing the new leader fell to a group of 88 clerics.
Iran's Assembly of Experts has appointed Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Leader of the Islamic Republic
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 8, 2026
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Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump called the decision “unacceptable.” He warned, “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” while talking to ABC News. Israel had also threatened to attack the next Supreme Leader of Iran, before the declaration.
Mojtaba was subjected to sanctions by the US Treasury Department in November 2019. He was never elected or assigned to a position in the government, but was chosen to serve as an official representative of the Supreme Leader at the time. He had been given some leadership responsibilities.
The department charged that he worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and the Basij Resistance Force (Basij) to further his father’s oppressive domestic goals and destabilising regional aspirations. Additionally, it was reported that he had properties in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, including access to opulent properties in London.
Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, a council member, asserted hours before the official announcement that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s directive about Iran’s top leader should be “hated by the enemy” had been followed while making the decision. “Even the Great Satan (US) has mentioned his name,” he remarked.
Mojtaba earlier came under fire during the demonstrations that broke out in Iran after the death of a young woman who was detained for allegedly breaking the nation’s stringent clothing laws. He had been closely associated with the political ascent of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was elected president of Iran in 2005.
Trump recently expressed that he would like to personally choose Iran’s new Supreme Leader and conveyed, “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy (Rodriguez) in Venezuela,” reported Axios. He warned that continuing his father’s policies could result in future hostilities with the United States and stressed that he would prefer a leader who could restore “harmony and peace” to Iran.
On 28th February, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was eliminated in a US-Israel strike, which intensified the conflict in the Middle East.
