Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has again emerged as a potential figure to succeed his father, who was killed on the first day of the war with the United States and Israel.

No official announcement has been made by local authorities, but Israeli and Western media outlets have reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardline cleric, is the frontrunner to become the new supreme leader of the 47-year-old Islamic Republic. His mother, wife, and one of his sisters were also killed in the strike, but the younger Khamenei was reportedly not present, and has so far survived the intense bombing of Iran.

Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In recent years, Khamenei has increasingly been touted as a top potential replacement for his father, who was president for nearly eight years and then held absolute power for 36 years before being killed in attacks on his compound in Tehran on Saturday.

If he does ascend to power, then it would be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations in the short term.

The 56-year-old younger Khamenei has never discussed the issue of succession publicly, a sensitive topic considering that his ascendancy to the position of supreme leader would effectively create a dynasty reminiscent of the Pahlavi monarchy before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Instead, Khamenei has largely kept a low profile, not giving public lectures, Friday sermons, or political addresses – to the point that many Iranians have not heard his voice, despite knowing for years that he was a star rising within the theocratic establishment.

Source: Al Jazeera