Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Iran’s Experts Council has confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been elected as the third Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, according to Tasnim News Agency citing an official council statement.
“At today’s session, based on the unanimous decision of the Experts Council representatives, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei will be presented as Iran’s Supreme Leader,” the statement said.
Yesterday, Council member Ayatollah Hosseini Eshkvari told Reuters that the new Supreme Leader would be a representative with the surname Khamenei. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani noted that Mojtaba Khamenei was elected despite threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to strike the Experts Council session.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has pledged allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei and declared readiness to follow his directives.
Following the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the U.S. and Israeli military operation, February 28, the country observed a 40-day mourning period. In the interim, the republic is being managed by a leadership council that includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and Guardian Council member Alireza Arafi.
