Mojtaba Khamenei

Ayatollah
Seyyed
Mojtaba Khamenei
Ayatollah; Seyyed; Mojtaba Khamenei
مجتبی خامنه‌ای
	Portrait of Mojtaba Khamenei, unknown date
3rd Supreme Leader of Iran
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 8 March 2026
President	Masoud Pezeshkian
Preceded by	Ali Khamenei
Vakil of the Office of the Supreme Leader
	In office; 21 August 2008 – 28 February 2026
Supreme Leader	Ali Khamenei
Chief of Staff	Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Vacant
Personal details
Born	Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei; 8 September 1969; Mashhad, Iran
Party	Independent
Other political; affiliations	Front of Islamic Revolution Stability (patron)
Spouse	Zahra Haddad-Adel (m. 1999; died 2026)
Children	3
Parents	Ali Khamenei (father); Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh (mother);
Relatives	Khamenei family
Education	Qom Seminary
Signature
Website	rahbar.ir
Military service
Allegiance	Iran
Branch/service	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Years of service	1987–1988 (Ground Forces); 2009–2026 (Basij);
Unit	27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division
Commands	Basij (de facto); Intelligence Organization (de facto); Intelligence Protection Organization general staff (de facto);
Battles/wars	Iran–Iraq War Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas 2; Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas 4; Operation Dawn 10; Operation Mersad; ; 2026 Iran war (WIA);
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Twelver Shi'a
Jurisprudence	Ja'fari
Creed	Usuli

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (born 8 September 1969) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who has served as the third supreme leader of Iran since 2026. A member of the Khamenei family and the second son of second supreme leader Ali Khamenei, he previously served as Vakil of the Supreme Leader during his father's rule from 2008 to 2026.

Born in Mashhad, Khamenei was raised in a conservative religious household, and graduated from high school in Tehran. He then studied Islamic theology under the guidance of his father and Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. He joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1987 and served in the Iran–Iraq War. In 1989, he began studying in Qom to become a cleric, and later joined the Qom Seminary as a theology teacher. He took control of the Basij paramilitary volunteer militia in 2009.

Western analysts long considered Khamenei a likely candidate to replace his father as Supreme Leader, despite some unverified reports that Ali Khamenei had opposed his accession. Following his father's assassination during the 2026 Iran war, Khamenei was elected the third supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts. Khamenei was injured in the airstrike that killed his father and has remained absent from public view since his appointment, causing confusion over his fate. The US is offering up to $10 million for information on him.

In political ideology and jurisprudence, Khamenei is considered to be more hardline than his father and has close ties to some of the "most ideologically extremist clerics" according to a report from the Atlantic Council, a pro-NATO think tank.