{"id":345524,"date":"2026-06-03T18:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=345524"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:11:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:11:26","slug":"power-dynamics-in-iran-and-mojtaba-khameneis-inner-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/anews\/who-is-who\/power-dynamics-in-iran-and-mojtaba-khameneis-inner-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Dynamics in Iran and Mojtaba Khamenei\u2019s Inner Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Archive
Archive photo of Mojtaba Khamenei, the newly installed hereditary Supreme Leader of the Iranian regime<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eight-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The 37-year reign of Ali Khamenei has come to an abrupt, violent conclusion following a coordinated military strike by the United States and Israel. Throughout his nearly four decades at the apex of the clerical state, the elder Khamenei systematically consolidated absolute power, gradually marginalizing\u2014and, as internal rumors persistently suggest, orchestrating the liquidation of\u2014Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani<\/a>, the very architect of his ascension. Today, Mojtaba Khamenei has assumed his father’s mantle as Supreme Leader, thrusting the Iranian regime into a highly volatile structural transition.<\/p>\n

Unlike his father, Mojtaba has never held an official, public state office. Instead, intelligence briefers and domestic actors know him as the long-time shadow manager of the Beyt<\/em> (the Supreme Leader\u2019s office), where he commanded the internal security apparatus and deep-seated networks within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)\u2014the twin structural pillars that guarantee the survival of the regime.<\/p>\n

While the clerical state in 2026 possesses far more institutional experience and survival adaptations than it did during its first succession crisis in 1989, the landscape Mojtaba faces is fundamentally more perilous. To evaluate whether his rule can survive its current trajectory, one must parse the profound differences between the past and present crises of the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n

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"The regime did not pick #Mojtaba_Khamenei<\/a> in spite of his security face. It picked him because of it. His notoriety, far from disqualifying him inside the ruling core, made him useful: he is legible to the regime\u2019s own forces as a continuity candidate who will neither surrender\u2026<\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n