March 9, 2026 | The Wall Street Journal
Mojtaba Khamenei Brings Monarchy Back to Iran
The Islamic Republic chooses a new supreme leader and turns itself into a family business.
March 9, 2026 | The Wall Street Journal
Mojtaba Khamenei Brings Monarchy Back to Iran
The Islamic Republic chooses a new supreme leader and turns itself into a family business.
Excerpt
For the third time in its history, the Islamic Republic of Iran has chosen a rahbar, or supreme leader. The father of the revolution, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1979-89), was known for his provocative theological erudition and charismatic authority. His successor, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1989-2026), compensated for his lackluster religious standing with experience in government and a mastery of detail.
Khamenei’s son and successor, the Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has neither his father’s experience nor Khomeini’s pedigree. His ascent marks the collapse of the last egalitarian pillar of the revolution, namely that the mullahs, unlike decadent Persian shahs, don’t do dynastic succession. With Mojtaba, the revolution has come full circle. Even without regime change, monarchy has returned to Iran.
Mr. Gerecht is a resident scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Mr. Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.