Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (born 8 September 1969) is an Iranian politician and cleric who is one of the sons of

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

. He served in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

from 1987 to 1988. He also reportedly took control of the

Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...

paramilitary militia that was used to suppress the protests over the 2009 election. Political commentators regard him to be one of the two potential candidates to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, the other being Ayatollah

Sadiq Larijani Sadiq Ardashir Larijani (born 12 March 1963) is an Iranian cleric and politician who currently serves as the chairman of Expediency Discernment Council since 2018. He previously served as the sixth chief justice of Iran from 2009 to 2019. Larij ...

Early life and education

Mojtaba was born in

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

in 1969 and is the second son of Ali Khamenei, the

Supreme leader of Iran The supreme leader of Iran, also referred to as the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the supreme leadership authority, is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of Iran (above the Presi ...

.The Man in the Shadow: Mojtaba Khamenei
, Tehran Bureau, 16 July 2009 After graduating from high school, he studied theology. His early teachers included his own father and Ayatollah

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (, 15 August 1948 – 24 December 2018) was an Iranian-Iraqi Twelver Shia cleric and conservative politician who was the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council from 14 August 2017 until his death on 24 December ...

. In 1999, he continued his studies in

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

to become a cleric.

Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi Giwachi (; 31 January 19351 January 2021) was an Iranian Shia scholar, political theorist and philosopher who served as the spiritual leader of the Front of Islamic Revolution Stability. He was a member of the Assembly ...

, Ayatollah

Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani (; 20 February 1919 – 1 February 2022) was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He was at one point the most senior Twelver Shia scholar (Marja') in Iran until his death. He resided in Qom and taught Islam in the Qom Seminary. ...

and Mohammad Bagher Kharazi were his teachers there.

Political activities and influence

Support for Ahmadinejad

Khamenei was affiliated with Iranian president

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

, and supported Ahmadinejad in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

presidential elections. Journalists stated that he may "have played a leading role in orchestrating" Ahmadinejad's electoral victory in 2009. Khamenei was speculated to have been "a key figure in orchestrating the crackdown against anti-government protesters" in June 2009. He is believed to have been directly in charge of the paramilitary

, a blackout of his name in the regime press notwithstanding. In an open letter,

Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi (, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011. As of 2021, he ...

, a

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

candidate in the 2009 election, accused Mojtaba Khamenei of conspiring to rig the election in Ahmadinejad's favor, referring to illegal interference of "a network". Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later accused Mojtaba Khamenei of embezzling from the state treasury.

Speculation as possible successor

Mojtaba is reported to have a strong influence over his father and is talked about as his possible successor. This is thought by some to present a problem, for the Supreme Leader needs to be elected by the

Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts (), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader of Iran. All directly elected members must first be vetted ...

from among senior

Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

ic scholars, but it has been noted that the previous incumbent,

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

, exerted a strong influence in favor of the choice of Khamenei’s father. Mojtaba Khamenei and his children in Quds Day 1397

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' argues that "The strength of Mojtaba's following has not been demonstrated", and while he wears clerical robes he "by no means has the theological status" to rise to Supreme Leader, although it notes that. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', Mojtaba's religious and political stature may still not be enough for Ali Khamenei to one day unveil his son as his successor. However, the Assembly of Experts is considered by ''The Atlantic'' to be a ceremonial body without any real power. According to ''The Guardian'' and French newspaper ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'', among other sources, he is widely believed to control large financial assets. This allegation was rejected by

Assembly of the Forces of Imam's Line Assembly of the Forces of the Imam's Line or Association of Followers of the Imam's Line () is an Iranian reformist political group. The party is a member of Council for coordinating the Reforms Front and Hadi Khamenei is its general secretary. ...

, an Iranian political group led by his uncle

Hadi Khamenei Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Hadi Khamenei (; born 26 January 1948) is an Iranian reformist politician, mujtahid and linguist.(14 February 1999Reformist Kin of Iran Leader is Attacked by Militants''The New York Times'' He is a key member of the reform ...

. During the presidency of

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

, Raisi, Motjaba and

were speculated as likely future successors as supreme leader. The death of Raisi in 2024 left Mojtaba and Larijani favored for the position. Unconfirmed reports state that Ali Khamenei has opposed nominating his son as successor. The Middle East Institute opined that Khamenei appointing his own son as successor would cause conflict within the Iranian political and religious leadership.

Personal life

Mojtaba teaches theology in the

Qom Seminary The Qom Seminary (') is the largest and one of the foremost Shia Islam, Shia hawzas (Islamic seminaries), located in the city of Qom, Iran. It is the largest seminary in Iran, established in 1922 by Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi in Qom to ...

. Mojtaba Khamenei married Zahra Haddad-Adel in 1998. Their first child, a son named Mohammad Bagher, was born in 2001. The couple's second child, a daughter named Fatemeh Sadaat, was born in 2004. A second son, Mohammad Amin, was born in 2007.

Financial assets

Mojtaba Khamenei is widely believed to control significant financial assets in banks such as Bank Ayandeh.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khamenei, Mojtaba 1969 births Living people Children of supreme leaders of Iran Children of presidents of Iran Religious leaders from Mashhad Ali Khamenei Iranian Shia clerics Al-Husayni family Iranian Azerbaijanis Iranian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions