Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei didn’t name his son as successor due to…; know real story behind the fear, pressure and inner workings of Iranian politics
Israel-Iran war: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Saturday announced his three chosen successors, amid assassination threats from Israel and its ally United States. But questions are being raised about the Supreme Leader’s choices, especially his decision of not picking his only son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as one of the chosen ones to lead the Islamic Republic after his demise.
Why Khamenei did not pick his son as successor?
According to geopolitical experts, there are a multitude of factors which drove Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decision to not declare his own son as successor. These factors are a multilayered web of religious, military and public sentiments, which drive the inner workings of Iranian politics, they say.
Iran, as a byproduct of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, looks down upon dynasty politics, which the people equate with erstwhile dictatorship of the Shah of Iran.
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei and what’s his current role?
Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader and de-facto head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mojtaba, a cleric like his illustrious father, has slowly emerged as a powerful figure in Iranian politics over the last two decades, despite not holding any formal position in the country’s government or the Shura Council aka the ‘Guardian Council’, which oversees Iran’s affairs.
Mojtaba Khamenei has developed deep ties within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and has emerged as an important bridge between Iran’s religious and political sections.
While not high-ranking in Iran’s clerical order, Mojtaba’s work with the IRGC alone could have made him a potential candidate to become his father’s successor. But the Ayatollah chose otherwise, and did not name his son as successor as it could’ve been seen as nepotism, and may have been exploited by Iran’s rivals to discredit the regime as another family-ruled dictatorship like the Shah.
Notably, when Ayatollah Khamenei became the Supreme Leader of in 1989, he did not promote any particular family to top positions within the government.
Does Khamenei fear an Israeli attack on his family?
Israel has assassinated many of Ayatollah Khamenei’s top advisors, including the one who shaped his decisions, in recent attacks, and experts claim that the Supreme Leader fears that the Jewish state may target his family, especially his son if he names him as successor.
Additionally, reports suggest that there are differences within Iran’s power centres regarding the ‘worthiness’ of Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father as the new Supreme Leader, with some considering him a worthy successor, while others view his surging influence within the IRGC as a potential red flag.
Its believed that Ayatollah Khamenei is following the “power from behind the scenes” formula, where Mojtaba remains a power player in Iran, but his name never comes up.
Notably, Mojtaba Khamenei is considered a ‘mid-tier’ cleric, but his influence, especially on Iran’s political parties, religious institutions and security forces makes him a powerful back-end operator. This means that he would continue to be a powerful behind-the-scenes force in Iran, regardless of who replaces his father as the new Supreme Leader.
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