Iranian and regional media reports say Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei has been named Iran's next supreme leader in Tehran after claims that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Saturday, Feb. 28. No independent confirmation is available so far, so the succession claim should be treated cautiously until Iran's formal constitutional process is clearly documented.
For context, Mojtaba Khamenei has long been discussed as a possible heir within the Islamic Republic's opaque power structure, despite questions raised over whether his religious standing matches the job's traditional expectations. He is a cleric and the second-eldest child of Ali Khamenei, and he is widely described as the most influential of Khamenei's sons.
