Dhaka, Mar 09 (V7N) – Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, son of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been elected as Iran’s next supreme leader. The decision has reportedly drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump, who described the development as “unhappy” in a conversation with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, though he has not made a formal public statement.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has never held a government position and is known for being a quiet and mysterious figure, rarely speaking in public. Experts say he built his influence through his father, acting as a “gatekeeper” and holding strong ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which protects the Islamic Republic and its borders.

Professor Mehmet Ozalp of Charles Sturt University, Australia, told ABC that Mojtaba was long regarded as the most likely candidate to ascend to Iran’s top leadership, noting his influence over clerics and the media, as well as his behind-the-scenes role in Iranian politics.

At the start of the ongoing war, Trump had remarked that the worst scenario for the US would be a successor “as bad as the person before him”. He also stated that decisions on ending the war with Iran would be made mutually with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Sunday (March 8), Trump said: “Netanyahu's opinion will be taken on the end of this war. I think it is a mutual matter. We will make a decision at the right time.”

Mojtaba’s rise to power comes amid ongoing instability in the region, following the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in 2024. Analysts warn that his close ties with the IRGC could shape Iran’s domestic and foreign policies in the coming years, particularly during the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.

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