The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s Supreme Leader marks a moment of profound irony in the history of the Islamic Republic. A revolution that overthrew a hereditary monarchy in 1979 has now effectively produced its own dynastic succession. The son of Ali Khamenei has ascended to the most powerful office in the land, not through religious distinction or scholarly authority, but through the opaque mechanisms of power within one of the world’s most secretive regimes. His 86-year-old father was killed on February 28 in an air strike on Tehran, which also killed Mojtaba’s wife.

For decades, Mojtaba Khamenei operated in the shadows of his father’s rule. Rarely seen in public, seldom speaking openly, he nonetheless became widely known within Iran’s political establishment as one of the most influential figures in the country. His power was not derived from elected office or religious scholarship. It came from proximity to the Supreme Leader and from the formidable security apparatus that protects the regime.

The central problem with Mojtaba Khamenei’s elevation is not merely political, it is theological. Under the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih, or the guardianship of the Islamic jurist, a system created by Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader is supposed to be a senior Shi’ite jurist of immense scholarly stature. Traditionally, this role has been reserved for an Ayatollah capable of issuing authoritative religious rulings and commanding respect among the clerical establishment. Mojtaba Khamenei has never commanded such authority.

Despite years of study in the seminaries at the holy city of Qom, he has long been regarded as a relatively minor cleric whose religious credentials fall well short of the standards normally associated with the office he now occupies. He lacks the broad scholarly recognition enjoyed by leading theologians. He........

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