Sayyid Mujtaba Husayni Khamenei

Sayyid Mujtaba Husayni Khamenei

Personal Information
Full Name	Sayyid Mujtaba Husayni Khamene'i
Well-Known Relatives	Sayyid Jawad Khamene'i (grandfather) • Sayyid Ali Khamenei (father) • Ghulam‑Ali Haddad‑Adil (father‑in‑law)
Birth	September 8, 1969
Place of Birth	Mashhad, Iran
Scholarly Information
Professors	Sayyid Ali Husayni Khamenei • Sayyid Mahmud Hashimi Shahrudi • Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi • Lutf Allah Safi Gulpayigani • Muhsin Kharrazi

Sayyid Mujtabā Ḥusaynī Khāmeneʼī (Persian: سید مجتبی حسینی خامنه‌ای) (born 1969) is the third leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the son of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei. Following the martyrdom of his father by the United States and the Zionist regime, he was elected as the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts on March 7, 2026.

Life

Sayyid Mujtaba was born in Mashhad in 1969. He completed high school at Alawi School in Tehran and studied seminary sciences under his father and Sayyid Mahmud Hashimi Shahrudi. In 1999, he went to Qom to continue his studies, attending classes of Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, Muhsin Kharrazi, Lutfullah Safi Gulpayigani, and also private lessons with Ali Andalibi.

He taught the advanced studies of jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence at the Qom Seminary from 2011 to 2024. This class, which is said to have lasted for about 13 years and was attended by nearly 700 seminary students, was closed in September 2024 by his personal decision.

Sayyid Mujtaba Khamene'i married Zahra Haddad Adil, the daughter of Ghulam Ali Haddad Adil, in 1999. The result of this marriage is two sons and a daughter. His wife was martyred on February 29, 2026, along with Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamene'i in a joint Israeli-American attack on the Supreme Leader's residence, and Sayyid Mujtaba was injured in this attack.

During the Iran-Iraq war, in 1986 at the age of 17, he went to the war front and, as a member of the Habib b. Muzahir Battalion of the Muhammad Rasulullah Division participated in operations such as Bayt al-Muqaddas 2, 3, and 4, Valfajr 10, and Mirsad.

In November 2019, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned him along with eight other individuals associated with the Leadership Office.

Leadership of the Islamic Republic

On March 7, 2026, eight days after the martyrdom of Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the Assembly of Experts elected Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei as the third leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This delay was reportedly due to security threats against the assembly's meeting. The United States and the Zionist regime targeted and destroyed the Assembly of Experts buildings in Qom and Tehran in an effort to prevent the gathering. Before this decision, several Maraji', including Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi and Ayatollah Nuri Hamadani, as well as various officials and groups, had emphasized the need to expedite the process of selecting a new leader.

Reactions

The selection of Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei as Iran's leader was met with widespread reactions both domestically and abroad. Several foreign political figures, Islamic resistance groups, and senior officials of the Islamic Republic congratulated the appointment. In Iran, in addition to congratulations from individuals, institutions, and various groups, public ceremonies of allegiance to the new leader were held across the country.

Pledge of Allegiance to Ayatollah Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei, the Third Leader of Iran (Tehran, March 8, 2026).

Ayatollah Nuri Hamadani, one of the Maraji', while praising the wise and appropriate selection by the Assembly of Experts, stated that Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei possesses all the necessary qualifications for assuming the weighty responsibility of leadership, including jurisprudential knowledge, courage, piety, timely discernment, management skills, and prudent judgment. Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi, also affirming the Assembly's choice as the most suitable, called upon the people and the pillars of the system to pledge allegiance to the new Leader and to continue the luminous path of the Revolution with unity and steadfastness until final victory.

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, while expressing his firm support for Tehran and solidarity with his Iranian friends, noted that Mujtaba Khamenei will continue his father's path with dignity and will unite the Iranian people against hardships.

In contrast, the United States and the Zionist regime expressed concern over the selection and threatened him with assassination. The two regimes had previously warned against Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei's appointment as Iran's leader.

Positions During the Leadership Era

Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei's presence in the Quds Day rally alongside his family (2014).

On March 11, 2026, Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei issued his first official message as the new Leader. This message outlined the system's macro-policies for the new era and the direction of the Resistance Front. The message was organized into seven sections and included points on the status and role of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the duties of the nation, the armed forces, executive bodies, the Axis of Resistance, regional countries, and methods of confronting foreign enemies. It also emphasized the need for regional countries to clarify their stance towards "those who have aggressed against Iran" and to shut down foreign military and financial bases. He called the United States' claim of establishing peace and security in the region a "blatant lie" and stressed the continuation of pressure mechanisms, including keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed until the complete withdrawal of the aggressors.

Nowruz Message for the Year 1405 (2026)

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei, expressed his condolences and sympathy to the families and survivors of the martyrs of the Second Imposed War, the January coup d'état, the Third Imposed War, and the martyrs of security, border guard forces, and anonymous soldiers. He congratulated the two religious holidays of Eid al-Fitr and the national and ancient holiday of Nowruz. Following the example of the martyred Leader, he declared the slogan for the current year to be: "Resistance Economy in the Shadow of National Unity and National Security."

World Media Reaction to the New Leader of the Islamic Revolution

Sayyid Mujtaba Khamene'i, (third person from the left) on the front lines of the Iran-Iraq war

Regional and international media reacted with breaking news to the selection of Ayatollah Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei as the new leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian people's happiness over this selection. Al Jazeera network wrote that a large crowd in Tehran expressed joy over the selection of Ayatollah Mujtaba Khamenei as the third leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic. Al-Mayadeen network, while publishing this news from Tehran, reported that many people in Iran were holding pictures of the new leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic, Sayyid Mujtaba Khamenei. Russia's RT network, which published a video from Tehran's streets, wrote that, with the succession of Ayatollah Mujtaba Khamenei as Iran's leader, cries of Allahu Akbar resonated. Sputnik news agency, also publishing videos from the streets in Iran, wrote that Iranians celebrated the selection of Mujtaba Khamenei, the new leader.