Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son emerges as the leading candidate to become Iran's new supreme leader

The New York Timesrevealed that the senior clerics in charge of choosing Iran's next supreme leader and ayatollah met Tuesday to assess their options, with the son of the late former hierarch Alli Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, the leading candidate. The media outlet detailed that, as told to them by three Iranian officials familiar with the deliberations who spoke on condition of anonymity, the body's members were debating whether to declare Mojtaba Khamenei as his father's successor as early as Wednesday morning. However, asome participants expressed concern that announcing him so quickly could make him an immediate target for the United States and Israel, which ended the supreme leader's life last Feb. 28 after a historic joint operation.

The so-called Assembly of Experts is composed of 88 high-ranking Shiite clerics elected by popular vote. According to the Iranian Constitution, the body is responsible for appointing, supervising and, if necessary, dismissing the supreme leader. This will be only the second time in the Islamic Republic's 47-year history that the assembly has selected a new leader.

A figure with a lot of influence

Other names reported by the newspaper to be under serious consideration include Alireza Arafi, a cleric and jurist who sits on the three-member transitional leadership council formed after the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, and Seyed Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Both Arafi and Khomeini are considered more moderate figures, the latter being close to the sector that some analysts consider reformist, which has been marginalized in recent years. During an interview with the Times, Abdolreza Davari, who is a leading political figure close to Mojtaba Khamenei, stated that, if he were to assume leadership, he might adopt a style of government similar to that of Saudi Arabia's leader Mohammed bin Salman.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has long maintained behind-the-scenes influence, operating discreetly within the political and security networks shaped by his father. According to different analysts, the son of the recently deceased ayatollah is widely regarded inside Iran as a figure with close ties to the Revolutionary Guard. In its Tuesday article, the Times detailed that the three Iranian regime officials who chose to speak to the media outlet explained that the Guard has already begun to push for his appointment, arguing that he possesses the necessary experience to guide the country through a period of instability.