Assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei reportedly opposed son Mojtaba as successor

Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was opposed to his son Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding him, according to a U.S. intelligence report presented to U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance, and other senior U.S. officials.

The assassinated Iranian leader reportedly believed that his son lacked the talent and leadership skills needed to run the ayatollah regime. In addition, Khamenei was opposed to transforming the Islamic Republic of Iran into a hereditary system.

However, last week, Iran announced that Mojtaba Khamenei had been chosen as the new supreme leader. Mojtaba, who has been described as an “apocalypse-obsessed” radical, has not been seen or heard from in public since the elimination of his father on Feb. 28. There are unconfirmed reports that Mojtaba was seriously injured – or even killed – in the Israeli aerial strike that killed his father and some 40 top Iranian officials.

The Iranian regime’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied in an interview on Thursday that Mojtaba was injured or incapacitated. 

“The leader is completely healthy, in control of the situation and present in the arena,” Araghchi told the Qatari news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. 

“The message he delivered Thursday was very strong. Not only the leadership, but all state institutions are stable and everything is under control,” Araghchi claimed. However, the message attributed to Mojtaba was delivered in writing and the ayatollah regime has so far not produced any credible evidence that the new supreme leader is alive or functioning as the de facto leader of Iran. 

The Trump administration reportedly increasingly believes that Iran is currently run and being controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Meanwhile, an unconfirmed report from Kuwaiti news outlet Al-Jarida claims that an injured Mojtaba Khamenei was secretly flown aboard a Russian military aircraft to Moscow for medical treatment. The report quoted an unnamed senior source who said Mojtaba underwent successful surgery in Russia and was receiving care at a private hospital at one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences.

According to the outlet, ongoing American and Israeli aerial strikes made it difficult for Mojtaba to receive medical treatment in Iran. It also claimed that Putin personally offered to provide treatment for Mojtaba during a phone conversation with Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

While the report may be accurate, it has not yet been confirmed by any independent source.

Some observers have argued that Mojtaba Khamenei is even more radical than his late father. In an exclusive interview with The Rosenberg Report, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter described Mojtaba Khamenei as a dangerous and “evil human being” with genocidal intentions. 

“He's an evil human being and he will not hesitate for a moment to advance his nuclear program,” Leiter said in the interview with Joel Rosenberg. 

“He's an enemy of the West. He was involved in the decision to slaughter Iranians two months ago when they rose up,” the Israeli ambassador added.

Leiter emphasized that Mojtaba Khamenei played a central role in the massacre of between 30,000 and 40,000 Iranian civilians in January. 

“So, he was very involved in that. He has blood on his hands. And, it's certainly no improvement over his father,” Leiter said.