Iran’s Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according by one of its members on March 8.

The supreme leader holds ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic, overseeing the armed forces, judiciary and key state institutions while setting broad domestic and foreign policy direction.

Seyed Ali Hosseini Ashkevari, a representative of the Assembly of Experts from Gilan province, said the successor had been chosen by an overwhelming majority and that the name Khamenei would continue as Iran’s leader.

The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body responsible for appointing and overseeing the supreme leader, convened after Ali Khamenei was killed in an air strike on February 28 during escalating conflict in the region.

It said in a statement: "In today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may God preserve him) has been appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the decisive vote of the honourable representatives of the Assembly of Experts."

The selection, officially confirmed by state media, marks the first hereditary succession at the top of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

 

Mojtaba Khamenei, a mid-ranking cleric, has long been viewed as a powerful figure within Iran’s political and security establishment and maintains close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to analysts and previous reporting.

Iranian officials had earlier indicated that the Assembly had reached a majority consensus on a candidate, though the formal public announcement was expected to be made by the body's secretariat.

Upon the announcement, chants of "Death to the parasite!", "Death to Mojtaba!" was heard and recorded on social media channels of those who oppose the system and Khamenei's family rule, from Ekbatan, Vahid Online, an expatriate channel reported. 

Under Iran’s constitution, the Assembly of Experts appoints the supreme leader when the position becomes vacant. In the interim period after Khamenei’s death, a temporary leadership council consisting of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i and Guardian Council cleric Alireza Arafi assumed leadership duties until a permanent successor was chosen.

Trump rejected the idea of the late leader’s son taking power and said Washington wanted a different type of leadership in Iran. He reportedly said Iran would be “wasting their time” if they chose him as supreme leader.

In an interview with ABC News he warned that whoever becomes supreme leader “is not going to last long” without approval from Washington.