- Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has been confirmed as Iran’s new supreme leader, succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on his compound.
- His selection was made by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, an 88-member collective of Islamic religious scholars, reportedly following pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
- Mojtaba Khamenei is known as a hardline conservative cleric with strong links to the IRGC, possessing a background in both Islamic theology and the military.
- He has faced accusations of meddling in the 2005 presidential elections and taking control of the Basij paramilitary group to suppress anti-government protests in 2009.
- His appointment is expected to generate controversy in Iran, given the Islamic Republic's historical opposition to hereditary rule, and he was placed under US sanctions in 2019 amid allegations of owning luxury properties in the UK.
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