as the new head of the Islamic republic. Khamenei's successor is set to be named by the top clerical body the Assembly of Experts, with one of its members, Ahmad Khatami, telling Iranian state media on Wednesday that they hoped to vote "at the earliest opportunity". Contenders for the top position include Alireza Arafi, one of the three members of the interim council running the country, hardliner Mohsen Araki, and even Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic republic in 1979. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, would represent a hereditary transition that his father rejected as an idea in 2024. The Islamic republic put an end to a multi-century royal dynasty headed by the shah. Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is one of the late supreme leader's six children.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died aged 86 on Saturday in Tehran in one of the opening US-Israeli missile strikes of the war. Because of his discretion at official ceremonies and in the media, Mojtaba's true influence has been the subject of intense speculation for years among the Iranian population as well as in diplomatic circles. He is the only child of the former supreme leader to hold a public position despite having no official post. (Bssnews)