Reports reaching eyeontheneqs.news say Iran’s Assembly of Experts has announced Mojtaba Khamenei as new Supreme Leader.

He is the second son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, was unanimously chosen as his successor.

Unlike his father, the 56-year-old has largely kept a low profile. He has never held government office, nor given public speeches or interviews, and only a limited number of photos and videos of him have ever been published.

But for years there have been rumours that he held considerable influence behind the scenes in Iran.

US diplomatic cables, which were published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s, described him as “the power behind the robes” who was widely regarded as a “capable and forceful” figure within the regime, according to AP news agency.

…Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?

Born on 8 September 1969 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Mojtaba is the second of Khamenei’s six children. He received his secondary education at the religious Alavi School in Tehran.

At age 17, Mojtaba served in the military for several short periods during the Iran-Iraq War, according to Iranian media. The eight-year bloody conflict made the regime even more suspicious of the US and the West, which supported Iraq.

In 1999, Mojtaba went to Qom, a holy city which is considered an important centre of Shia theology, to continue his religious studies. It is notable that he did not wear clerical clothing until this time, and it is unclear why he decided to attend a seminary at 30, as it is more usual to do so in one’s younger years.

Mojtaba remains a mid-ranking cleric, which could pose an obstacle to his ascendance as the supreme leader.