Trending 
Nine days after the late former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed in US-Israel strikes launched against Iran, the 56-year-old son of the late Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was appointed his father’s successor.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts, in a statement, said they “did not hesitate for a minute” in choosing a new leader, despite “the brutal aggression of the criminal America and the evil Zionist regime”, even as United States President Donald Trump demands a say in the appointment and Israel’s threats.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, said the country would not bow to pressure from Trump to decide the country’s leader.
Here are five key facts about Motjaba Khamenei:
Late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s Second Son
Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Motjaba is the second son in a family of four sons and two daughters. He is also Khamenei’s only child to hold a public position, despite having no official post.
U.S-Imposed Sanctions
The United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei on November 4, 2019, as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. The move targeted the inner circle of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader at the time.
According to U.S. officials, Mojtaba played an influential role in Iran’s political and security system despite not holding any elected or formal government position, acted on behalf of his father and exercised power behind the scenes.
Theological Education
Mojtaba pursued clerical training in the city of Qom, widely regarded as the spiritual and intellectual centre of Shia Islam in Iran and home to the country’s most important religious seminaries. He also taught dars-e kharej, the highest level of seminary instruction in Islamic jurisprudence and principles, for more than 15 years.
Wife Killed in US-Israel Strikes
Motjaba lost his wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, daughter of a former speaker of parliament, in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father.
Fought In The Frontlines
Motjaba was sent to the front lines in the mid-1980s when he was 17 to fight in the Iran–Iraq War. He served in the Habib ibn Mazaher Battalion of the 27th Mohammad RasulullahDivision, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division. His combat service was, however, relatively brief.
