Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently deceased Ali Khamenei, cannot replace his father as Iran's supreme leader. Instead, a select group of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders now wield effective power in the country, according to former IRGC founder Mohsen Sazegara.
Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly named the new leader following his father's death in a US-Israeli strike. However, he has not appeared publicly and is rumored to have been wounded in the attack. Israeli officials have vowed to target any successor, while U.S. President Trump stated any leader not securing U.S. interests would be unacceptable.
Sazegara explained that while Ali Khamenei spent years preparing his son for leadership by embedding loyalists within key institutions, Mojtaba Khamenei lacks the necessary position and the leadership structure has been disrupted by the deaths of key figures like Asghar Hejazi and General Mohammad Shirazi.
Following Ali Khamenei's death, the IRGC has seized control of decision-making. Sazegara stated the IRGC now has the upper hand, threatening severe punishment for opposition under wartime conditions. President Masoud Pezeshkian has been sidelined, with former Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf reportedly managing affairs, supported by the head of the IRGC's intelligence organization, Hossein Taeb.
Sazegara concluded that a faction of IRGC commanders controlling these critical sectors holds the ultimate power.