Iran’s Assembly of Experts names Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader

Iran's Assembly of Experts, a clerical body of 88 members responsible for selecting the supreme leader, announced that it had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ali Khamenei, as the new supreme leader with an overwhelming majority vote during an emergency session.

The decision followed reports that Ali Khamenei was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Tehran that began on February 28, 2026. Iranian state media reported that Mojtaba Khamenei was not present during the strikes, in which his mother, wife and one sister also died. The Assembly called on Iranians to pledge allegiance to the new leader and maintain unity amid wartime conditions.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, born in 1969 in Mashhad, studied at religious schools in Tehran and Qom, participated in the Iran-Iraq war as a teenager and teaches advanced Islamic jurisprudence. Long seen as influential in political, religious and security circles, including ties to the Revolutionary Guards, he has rarely appeared publicly.

The selection ends days of speculation after Ali Khamenei's death. Some conservative politicians supported it, while critics called it hasty and resembling a hereditary power transfer akin to the pre-1979 Pahlavi dynasty. Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, an Assembly member, said a majority view had formed but some obstacles remained, while Mohsen Heydari Al-Kashef noted a physical meeting was impossible under current conditions.

U.S. President Donald Trump reacted by saying "We'll see what happens," having previously warned that an unapproved leader would not last. Israel issued similar threats. The war has caused over 1,332 civilian deaths per Iran's UN representative, seven U.S. military fatalities, oil prices above $100 per barrel and U.S. evacuations from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia warned Iran against attacks and supports diplomacy, following an apology from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

RTA cited Tasnim news agency confirming the unanimous vote, while others described it as a decisive majority.