Iranian state media is reporting that Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been selected as Iran’s new supreme leader. Broader reporting in the past week had already described him as a leading contender, though some outlets had noted internal disagreement and delays before any formal announcement.
Mojtaba Khamenei has never held elected office or faced a public vote, but he has long been seen as an influential figure within Iran’s ruling establishment, with deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to his father’s inner circle.
His elevation would be especially controversial because it risks drawing comparisons with hereditary rule — something the Islamic Republic has historically defined itself against since the fall of the Pahlavi monarchy in 1979.
UK Fact Check note: succession reporting around Iran has been fast-moving and, until now, sometimes contradictory. This line should be treated as a state-media report unless and until it is confirmed more broadly by multiple authoritative sources.