Mojtaba, Ayatollah Khamenei's son, elected Iran's new Supreme Leader: Report

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has been chosen to assume control of the country.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been elected as Iran's new Supreme Leader by the country's Assembly of Experts, Iran International reported.

"The Assembly of Experts elected Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba as the next Supreme Leader," Iran International reported, citing informed sources.

According to the outlet, Mojtaba, 56, has been chosen to assume control of the country.

He is the second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei and has long been seen by observers as a potential successor.

The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States.

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?

Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969 in Mashhad.

He grew up during the years when his father was active in opposing the Shah before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Mojtaba has never held public office and is not a high-ranking cleric. However, he is believed to exercise considerable influence behind the scenes.

He served in the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq War and is known for his close links to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Mojtaba married Zahra Haddad-Adel, daughter of an Iranian conservative politician and former Chairman of the Parliament, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, in 2004.

Zahra Haddad-Adel was reported to have been killed recently when the US and Israel attacked Iran in a joint operation.

The couple reportedly has three children, though few details about his family are available publicly.