Son of Iranian leader Khamenei is hardliner with backroom influence
FILE PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei (right), the second son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Mojtaba Khamenei is one of the most influential figures in the Iranian clerical establishment headed by his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and among the figures seen as a candidate to succeed him as leader of the Islamic Republic.
A mid-ranking cleric who studied under religious conservatives in the seminaries of Qom, Mojtaba is a hardliner with close ties to the Revolutionary Guards, the force mandated to safeguard the Islamic Republic led by Khamenei since 1989.
Carrying the clerical rank of Hojjatoleslam, Mojtaba, 55, has never held a formal position in the Islamic Republic's government, exercising his influence behind the scenes as the gatekeeper to his father, according to Iran watchers.
His role has long been a point of controversy in Iran, with critics rejecting any hint of dynastic politics in a country that overthrew a U.S.-backed monarch in 1979. Khamenei has himself indicated opposition to the idea of dynastic succession.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mojtaba in 2019, saying he represented the Supreme Leader in "an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position" aside from working his father's office.
Its website said Khamenei had delegated some of his responsibilities to Mojtaba, whom it said had worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force and the Basij, a religious militia affiliated with the Guards, "to advance his father's destabilising regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives".
Over the past 20 years, Mojtaba has built close ties with the Guards, giving him added leverage across Iran's political and security apparatus, sources told Reuters.
Mojtaba has been a target of protesters' anger in demonstrations since 2009, particularly during months of unrest that swept Iran over the death of a young woman in police custody in 2022, after she was arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic Republic's strict dress codes.
He has appeared at loyalist rallies, but has rarely spoken in public. Last year, a video was widely shared in which he announced the suspension of Islamic jurisprudence classes he was teaching at Qom, fuelling speculation about the reasons.
He bares a strong resemblance to his father, and wears the black turban of a sayyed, indicating his family traces its lineage to the Prophet Mohammad.
Critics say Mojtaba lacks the clerical credentials to become Supreme Leader - Hojjatoleslam is a notch below the rank of Ayatollah - the position held by his father and Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic.
But he has remained in the frame, particularly after another leading candidate for the role - the former President Ebrahim Raisi - died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
AVENUE TO THE LEADER
A U.S. diplomatic cable written in 2007 and published by WikiLeaks cited three Iranian sources describing Mojtaba as an avenue to reach Khamenei.
He has opposed Iran's reformist camp that has favoured engagement with the West and has been embodied by figures such as the former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani.
Mojtaba was widely believed to have been behind the sudden rise of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential election. Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist cleric who ran in the 2005 election, wrote a letter to Khamenei at the time objecting to what he alleged was Mojtaba's role in supporting Ahmadinejad.
Khamenei rejected the accusation.
Mojtaba also backed Ahmadinejad in 2009 when he ran again and won a second term in a disputed election that resulted in anti-government protests that were violently suppressed by the Basij and other security forces.
His wife is the daughter of a prominent hardliner, the former parliament speaker Gholamali Haddadadel.
Mojtaba was born in 1969 in the city of Mashhad, growing up as his father was helping to lead the opposition to the Shah, and as a young man served in the Iran-Iraq war. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US strikes may have set back Iran nuclear program only months, sources say
Satellite image over Fordow, before the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, June 2, 2025. 2025 Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS/File Photo US strikes may have set back Iran nuclear program only months, sources say WASHINGTON - A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has determined that U.S. strikes over the weekend on Iranian nuclear facilities have set back Tehran's program by only a matter of months, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The initial report was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's main intelligence arm and one of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss classified matters. The classified assessment is at odds with the statements of President Donald Trump and high-ranking U.S. officials - including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They have said the weekend strikes, which used a combination of bunker-busting bombs and more conventional weapons, essentially eliminated Iran's nuclear program. Trump has said the attacks were necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies it is seeking such a weapon and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Hegseth on Sunday said that the strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear ambitions, while Trump said Iran's crucial nuclear sites had been "completely and fully obliterated." Assessing the damage at the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites is expected to be a difficult task, and the DIA is not the only agency tasked with the job. One source said the assessment was not universally accepted and had generated significant disagreement. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. did not know the extent of the damage yet. Still, the initial assessment indicated the strikes may not have been nearly as successful as the Trump administration has claimed. One of the sources said Iran's enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and in fact the country's nuclear program may have been set back only a month or two. The Pentagon disputed the notion that the damage to Iran's nuclear program was minor, though it did not dispute that the DIA assessment exists. "Based on everything we have seen — and I've seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons," Hegseth said in a statement provided to Reuters. "Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement to CNN, which first reported the intelligence assessment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the conclusion was incorrect. "This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong," Leavitt said, according to CNN. "Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration." Initial military assessments can change as more information comes to light and it is not uncommon for opinions to vary across different U.S. intelligence agencies. Democrats have previously said Trump's claims that the weekend strikes eliminated or seriously set back Iran's nuclear program were not yet backed by evidence. "There's zero evidence that I've seen that the nuclear program was completely and totally obliterated as Donald Trump has claimed," House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday. Classified briefings on the matter for members of the House of Representatives and Senate were canceled on Tuesday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran's nuclear threat in 12-day war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its programme. "We have removed two immediate existential threats to us - the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles," he said in video remarks issued by his office. 'If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.' He called it a historic victory that would stand for generations. He said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose U.S. military had dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran's underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend. 'Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,' Netanyahu said. He spoke hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel's closest ally. Netanyahu said Israel's work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran's ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian militant group carried out a surprise attack on October 7, 2023. About 20 are believed to be alive. "We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israel lifts domestic restrictions linked to war with Iran
A man posing next to the apparent remains of a ballistic missile, in northern Israel on June 24. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM - Israel's military said on June 24 it was lifting restrictions on public gatherings, workplaces and schools it imposed during its 12-day war with Iran after a ceasefire took effect. 'All areas of the country will shift to full activity' from 8pm (3am on June 25 in Singapore) on June 24 on the orders of Defence Minister Israel Katz, the military said in a statement. The guidelines will be effective until the evening of June 26, when they will be reviewed. Israel's airport authority also announced that all flights to and from the country would resume. According to the transport ministry, between 100,000 and 150,000 Israelis were stranded abroad when Israel closed its airspace after launching a massive bombing campaign against Iran on June 13. Tens of thousands of them have since been repatriated by air or sea. The country has been under tight restrictions since the start of the war, with schools closed and non-essential businesses shut. Israel and Iran both said on June 24 they would abide by a ceasefire deal first announced by US President Donald Trump. Israel, in announcing it had agreed to Mr Trump's plan, said it had achieved all its military objectives. Iran initially stopped short of officially accepting the proposal, but President Masoud Pezeshkian later said that if 'the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either'. Israel hit Iranian military and nuclear facilities as well as key commanders and scientists, prompting waves of retaliatory Iranian missile fire at Israel. The full extent of the damage in Israel is still not known due to military censorship rules, but at least 50 impacts have been acknowledged nationwide and the official death toll stands at 28. At least four people died in the southern city of Beersheba on June 24 in a missile attack launched by Iran shortly before the ceasefire entered force, the emergency services said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
