Mojtaba Khamenei takes part in the annual Quds Day rally in Tehran, Iran, on May 31, 2019.
Photographer: Rouzbeh Fouladi /AFP/Getty Images
Iran’s New Supreme Leader Fights Trump, Israel and Anger at Home
Delays in appointing Mojtaba Khamenei hint at tensions between the military and civilian leadership of the country.
For most of his 56 years, Mojtaba Khamenei has kept a low profile in the Islamic Republic, quietly building networks of influence in the country’s security apparatus, its clergy and within its wealthy business elite. As he steps into his father’s shoes, he faces not only a US and Israeli war machine bent on his downfall but a population in turmoil, much of which is desperate to see the back of his regime.
The second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei — the Supreme Leader killed in the opening hours of the US-Israel onslaught on Iran nine days ago — Mojtaba’s ascent comes as the system of rule his father pioneered, and over which he kept a tight grip, battles the biggest existential threat in its near-50 year history.