The announcement of Mojtaba Khamenei as the next supreme leader of Iran represents not only continuity in the Islamic Republic’s bloodstained rule but also an even darker turn for the Iranian establishment. Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has long been associated with radical currents in Tehran. His supreme leadership, for however long it lasts, underscores that the Iranian regime will continue to be a thorn in the side of US interests.

This mythmaking and symbolism are important in the Islamic Republic

This mythmaking and symbolism are important in the Islamic Republic

Mojtaba, who was born in 1969 in Mashhad, resembles his father physically but also experientially. His earliest memories from his childhood were of Ali Khamenei being arrested by the SAVAK intelligence service under the Pahlavi monarchy for his revolutionary activities.

During the Iran-Iraq War, the new supreme leader served in the Habib Battalion, where he developed close associations with men who would go on to play leading roles in the Islamic Republic’s military and security services. They include Hossein Taeb, who became the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation and whose residence was reportedly bombed by Israel last week; Hossein Nejat, who went onto lead the Sarallah Headquarters and commanded the IRGC’s Vali Amr Protection Unit that guarded Mojtaba’s father; Alireza Panahian, who led the supreme leader’s think tank for universities, and Hassan Mohaghegh, the late deputy commander of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organisation. This enabled Mojtaba to form his own patronage network later on, when he became........

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