TEHRAN, Monday, March 9, 2026 (WNP): The life and scholarly background of Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei, recently announced as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, reflects decades of religious study, teaching and involvement in the country’s revolutionary institutions.

Born in 1969 in the holy city of Mashhad, Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He began his early religious education at the Ayatollah Mojtahedi Seminary in Tehran, one of the prominent institutions for clerical training in Iran.

During the Iran-Iraq war, known in Iran as the “Sacred Defense,” Mojtaba Khamenei joined volunteer forces and reportedly served alongside fighters of the Habib Battalion affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, gaining firsthand experience of the conflict that shaped Iran’s modern political identity.

After the war, he moved in 1989 to Qom, the center of Shiite religious scholarship, to pursue advanced seminary studies. He remained there until the early 1990s before returning briefly to Tehran to continue his theological education.

In 1997, he married Zahra Haddad-Adel and later returned to Qom to complete higher religious studies and deepen his academic work.

During his years in the seminary, Mojtaba Khamenei studied advanced jurisprudence and Islamic legal theory under several prominent clerics, including: Ayatollah Javad Tabrizi, Ayatollah Hossein Vahid Khorasani, Ayatollah Mousa Shubairi Zanjani and Ayatollah Mohammad Momen Qomi.

He is said to have spent more than 17 years attending and participating in advanced “dars-e-kharij” lectures, the highest level of study in Shiite seminaries, focusing on Islamic jurisprudence, principles of law and the science of hadith narrators.

Alongside his studies, Mojtaba Khamenei developed a reputation as a teacher within the seminary system. He initially taught introductory courses in Tehran before beginning specialized lessons in jurisprudence at religious institutions in Qom.

In 2007, his lectures moved to the renowned Feyziyeh Seminary, one of the most influential seminaries in the Shiite world. By 2009 he formally launched advanced courses in Islamic jurisprudence, followed by lectures on the principles of jurisprudence in 2010.

His teaching style—described by seminary students as structured, analytical and intellectually open—reportedly attracted hundreds of students. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 400 seminarians were said to regularly attend his lectures.

Clerical sources say Mojtaba Khamenei maintained close relationships with several respected scholars of ethics and mysticism, including Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Bahjat and other prominent teachers of spiritual philosophy.

They also note that his proximity to his father during decades of leadership gave him a detailed understanding of Iran’s political system and the mechanisms of governance within the Islamic Republic.

Supporters describe Mojtaba Khamenei as combining religious scholarship with familiarity with Iran’s military and political networks, including contacts with commanders and figures associated with the “Axis of Resistance.”

With his emergence as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, they say the country is entering a new phase of leadership at a time of heightened regional tensions and geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.

In addition, large crowds gathered in Tehran’s Vanak Square as emotional scenes unfolded following the announcement that Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei had been elected as the third Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Videos circulating on social media showed people cheering, waving Iranian flags and chanting religious slogans as the news was announced.

The 56-year-old cleric was formally chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the powerful 88-member body responsible for appointing the country’s supreme leader, after a vote held in early March.

His appointment comes just days after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 during a series of Israeli-U.S. airstrikes targeting senior Iranian leadership in Tehran amid a rapidly escalating regional war.

Footage shared online showed thousands of Iranians gathering in Vanak Square, one of Tehran’s busiest public spaces, celebrating the announcement. Supporters appeared visibly emotional as the new leader’s name was broadcast, with many chanting prayers and pledging loyalty to the Islamic Republic’s leadership.

Iranian state media also reported celebrations in several other cities, presenting the succession as a moment of national unity during wartime.

Mojtaba Khamenei assumes power at a critical moment for the country. The region is currently engulfed in a widening conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, with ongoing airstrikes, missile exchanges, and attacks on energy infrastructure across the Middle East.

The position of supreme leader is Iran’s most powerful office, giving Mojtaba ultimate authority over the armed forces, judiciary, state broadcasting, and key strategic decisions of the Islamic Republic.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who studied at the Qom seminary and maintained close ties with Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has long been seen as an influential figure behind the scenes in Iranian politics.

International reactions have been swift. Some Western leaders have criticized the selection, while Iran’s political and military leadership have publicly pledged allegiance to the new supreme leader, emphasizing unity during the ongoing conflict.

With regional tensions still escalating and global oil markets already shaken by the war, analysts say Mojtaba Khamenei’s leadership will likely shape the next phase of the Middle East crisis and Iran’s relations with the world.