When U.S. and Israeli airstrikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran last week, Iran was left with a dangerous vacuum at the very top of its power structure.
Ali Khamenei, 86, had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989. He succeeded Khomeini, the founder of the post-Shah Iran, who steered the country’s 1979 revolution.
Now, sources familiar with Iran’s clerical establishment told Reuters that Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s 56-year-old son, could be his potential successor.
His ascension would be historic and deeply controversial: a son inheriting supreme leadership in a republic founded on the explicit rejection of dynastic rule.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, threatened to assassinate any Iranian leader picked to succeed Khamenei, “no matter what his name is or the place where he hides.”
כל מנהיג שימונה ע”י משטר הטרור האיראני כדי להמשיך ולהוביל את התוכנית להשמדת ישראל, לאיים על ארה”ב והעולם החופשי ומדינות האזור, ולדכא את העם האירני – יהיה יעד חד משמעי לחיסול.לא חשוב מה שמו והמקום בו יסתתר.רה”מ ואני הנחינו את צה”ל להיערך ולפעול בכל האמצעים למימוש המשימה כחלק…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 4, 2026
How Iran’s Power Structure Works
At the apex of Iran’s system sits the Supreme Leader, who holds …Full story available on Benzinga.com
