mojtaba khamenei

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (born 8 September 1969) is an Iranian cleric and politician who is serving as the 3rd Supreme Leader of Iran since 8 March 2026. A member of the Khamenei family and the second son of second supreme leader Ali Khamenei, he previously served as Vakil of the Office of the Supreme Leader during his father's rule from 2008 to 2026.

Born in Mashhad, Khamenei received an early education in Sardasht and Mahabad, 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.