Years before becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei was already on the US sanctions list — Here’s why

Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of Ali Khamenei who was killed in US-Israel strikes on Tehran on February 28.

According to the United States Department of the Treasury, Mojtaba Khamenei was designated for “having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Supreme Leader of Iran.”

The department had said the action also targeted Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and nine individuals who are appointees of, or have acted on behalf of, Ali Khamenei, described as the Iranian regime’s unelected Supreme Leader whose office was “responsible for advancing Iran’s radical agenda.”

In a statement issued in 2019, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had said: “These individuals are linked to a wide range of malign behaviors by the regime, including bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in 1994, as well as torture, extrajudicial killings, and repression of civilians. This action further constricts the Supreme Leader’s ability to execute his agenda of terror and oppression.”

The designation was issued under Executive Order 13876 signed by Donald Trump on June 24, 2019.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has officially appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, more than a week after the death of Ali Khamenei in the US-Israel strikes.

In an official statement quoted by Tehran Times, the Assembly said: “After careful and extensive deliberations and drawing upon the authority granted under Article 108 of the Constitution, by the decisive vote of the honorable members of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may God protect him) has been appointed and introduced as the third Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We pray to Almighty God for continued grace and favour upon this country and its great people.”

The official X account of Ali Khamenei also confirmed the appointment, stating that the Assembly of Experts had named Mojtaba Khamenei as the third Leader of the Islamic Republic under Article 108 of the Constitution.

Born in 1969, Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly served during the Iran–Iraq War from 1987 to 1988.

He has also been linked to oversight of the Basij militia, which played a key role in suppressing protests following Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election, according to Pantheon World.

Over the years, Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to have wielded significant influence within Iran’s political establishment, particularly through his ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Following the announcement, supporters of the regime reportedly took to the streets in several Iranian cities to celebrate the appointment of the new Supreme Leader.