Raheem Kassam – TheNationalPulse.com
WHAT HAPPENED: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is expected to assume leadership of the country despite lacking an elected or appointed government role.
WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mojtaba Khamenei, the Iranian Assembly of Experts, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
WHEN & WHERE: Following the death of Ayatollah Khamenei during an Israeli airstrike on Saturday as part of Operation Epic Fury, in Iran.
IMPACT: Mojtaba Khamenei’s potential rise highlights tensions within Iran’s leadership and raises questions about the Islamic Republic’s stance on hereditary rule.
IN FULL
Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old Twelver Muslim cleric and son of the deceased Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is poised to take over as Supreme Leader of Iran despite having no prior government role nor significant position within the religious sect. His rise is reportedly backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Assembly of Experts following the death of his father during joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.
The Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 Islamic scholars vetted for loyalty to the Supreme Leader, convened twice to discuss the succession. Some Iranian officials have claimed that Mojtaba was selected as the primary candidate, with the Assembly of Experts under pressure from the IRGC.
However, the legitimacy of the selection is already being called into question, especially in light of the Assembly of Experts allegedly being hit by an airstrike during its meeting. Leaving a U.S. Senate briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) alluded to the possibility that 80 or so of the Assembly of Experts members were killed in the strike.