*Had No Official Role In Father’s Regime
*Close To Brutal Revolutionary Guards Corps
*Sanctioned By US In 2019
*First Father-To-Son Succession In Iran Since 1979 Islamic Revolution
Oldest son of the late Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been selected to replace him as the nation’s highest authority, according to a report in Iranian opposition media.
Fifty six-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei was tapped to assume control of the country by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, Iranian International reported on Tuesday.
Motjaba is known for a staunch adherence to his father’s hardline conservatism, and has close ties to Iran’s notoriously brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military body, according to CNN.
He had no official role in his father’s regime, but was still sanctioned by the US in 2019.
The report of his selection was widely being picked up by Israeli media, but had not been confirmed by Iranian state mouthpieces.
Mojtaba was at first reported to be among the 40 top lieutenants killed during the Saturday strike that took out Iran’s highest-ranking cleric and multiple members of his household.
The appointment came as questions have swirled for days about who would replace the senior Khamenei, a cult of personality who ruled over Iran with an iron grip and fiercely anti-Western agenda for decades.
The appointment is unexpected, as Iran has looked down on family succession in its leadership – especially since the regime seized power by toppling a monarchy headed by Shah Reza Pahlavi in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Since the senior Khamenei’s killing, Iran has been in the hands of a three-man council run by two of Khamenei’s top henchmen who survived the strike, with speculation running wild about who would grab power in the vacuum left behind by the attacks.
The Middle Eastern nation has been plunged into chaos since the strikes, with missiles continuing to fall across the country, reportedly killing about 1,500 persons, including many military leaders, so far, as it lashes back with rockets and drones at Israel and US interests across the region.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Mojtaba Khamenei (center) was selected to replace his late father as supreme leader.
