Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader. This move cements hardliner power and turns the Islamic Republic into a dynasty. The 1979 revolution was built on ending the idea of passing power from father to son, and this appointment directly contradicts that founding principle.
This comes after a devastating period for the Khamenei family. Mojtaba’s father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died in US-Israeli air strikes. State media reported that his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law were all killed in the same attack, and his mother died shortly after from her wounds.
