June 23 (Reuters) – Mojtaba Khamenei is without doubt one of the most influential figures in Iran’s workplace amenities led by his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amongst these seen because the candidate to take over because the chief of the Islamic Republican Party.
Mojtaba, a mid-term clergyman who studied below spiritual conservatives at QOM seminaries, is a hardlinder since 1989 with shut ties with revolutionary safety guards who’ve been mandated to guard the Islamic Republic led by Khamenei.
Analysis: Iranian chief Khamenei sees his internal circle hollowed out by Israel
According to Iranian watchers, Mojtaba, 55, who has a administrative rank within the 50-year-old Hojathorzralam, has by no means held a proper place within the authorities of the Islamic Republic and has by no means used his affect behind the scenes as his father’s gatekeeper.
His position has lengthy been some extent of Iran’s controversy, with critics rejecting hints of the dynasty politics of the nation that overthrew a US-backed monarchy in 1979.
The US Treasury Department has said that, besides in 2019, sanctioning Mojutaba and dealing in his father’s workplace, he stated he “has by no means been elected or appointed to a authorities place, however has represented the Supreme Leader in his official capability.
According to the web site, Khamenei stated he delegated a few of his obligations to Mojutaba. Mojtaba stated he labored intently with the QUDS Force, a legion of the Islamic Revolutionary Security Force, and the commander of Basij, a spiritual militia affiliated with the safety guard.
Analysis: Who are the boys serving IRGC, Basij and police in Iran?
Over the previous 20 years, Mojtaba has developed shut ties with safety guards and added leverage to Iran’s political and safety tools, sources instructed Reuters.
Mojtaba has been the goal of protesters’ rage at his first demonstration since 2009, notably throughout a number of unrestrained months that worn out Iran the demise of a younger lady in police custody in 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict costume code.
PPI surveys present that the majority Iranians desire a change of presidency, secular authorities
He appeared at Loyalist rallies, however was not often spoken in public. Last yr, the video was extensively shared and he introduced the suspension of Islamic legislation lessons he taught in QOM, selling hypothesis as to why.
He devours robust similarities together with his father, sporting a black turban of sayeyed, indicating that his household follows the lineage to the Prophet Mohammad.
Critics say Mojtaba lacks the executive {qualifications} to turn into the supreme chief – Hojjatoleslam is beneath the rank of Ayatollah, a place held by his father and Ruhollah Khomeini, who based the Islamic Republic.
But he stays within the body. In specific, one other main candidate for this position, former President Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
Special Report – The chief of the Islamic Republic has ordered a crackdown on fears that “we are going to do no matter is critical to finish it.”
Leaders of the Islamic Republic urge Muslim states to assist Palestinians militarily and financially
The path to changing into a pacesetter
Written in 2007 and printed by WikiLeaks, the US Diplomatic Cable cited three Iranian sources describing Mojitaba as a path to succeed in Khamenei.
He supported his involvement with the West and opposed Iran’s reform camps embodied by figures akin to former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Roohani.
Mojutaba was extensively believed to have been behind the sudden rise of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad within the 2005 presidential election. Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist cleric who ran within the 2005 election, wrote to Khamenei on the time, objecting to his declare that Mojtaba was the position of Ahmadinejad.
Khamenei refused to file prices.
Mojtaba additionally supported Ahmadinejad in 2009, working once more to win a second time period in battle elections, leading to anti-government protests that had been closely oppressed by Basij and different safety forces.
His spouse is the daughter of a distinguished hardliner who’s former Congress president Gholamali Haddadel.
Mojtaba was born in Mashhad metropolis in 1969 and grew up as a younger man who served within the Iran and Iraq wars as he helped his father lead opposition to the Shah.
(Written by Tom Perry, Edited by Alex Richardson)
Prince Reza Pallavi: “The Iranian state is a substitute for the Islamic Republic.”
It was launched in Washington and was supported by Reza Pallavi
Opinion: The answer to the “Iranian downside” is a system change