Overview
- Multiple outlets, citing the opposition channel Iran International, report that the Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Jamenei, though Iranian authorities have not issued a formal, detailed confirmation.
- Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency says Mojtaba Jamenei is alive, in good health, and engaged in important state matters.
- Analysts describe Mojtaba as a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij, and note he was sanctioned by the United States in 2019.
- The reported choice breaks with Shiite clerical tradition against dynastic succession, intensifying questions about internal acceptance and religious legitimacy.
- The succession struggle follows U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Jamenei and other senior figures, with Iran’s constitution assigning a provisional council to handle the leader’s functions until a successor is designated.