A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei was not seen publicly in the days after an Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leader's offices killed his 86-year-old father at the start of the war. The announcement of his selection came after signs of a rift among Iranian officials as Iran awaited the decision by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics that selects the supreme leader. Khamenei would go on to fight in the Iran-Iraq war with the Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, a division of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that would see several of its members ascend to powerful intelligence positions within the force — likely with the backing of the Khamenei family.
Author: Jon Gambrell, Associated Press
Published at: 2026-03-08 22:35:51
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