09.03.2026 13:00
After days of ongoing discussions, the anticipated decision has arrived, and the Experts Assembly has announced Iran's new religious leader. The name of Mojtaba Khamenei, who has emerged as the strongest candidate in recent days, has been officially declared. So, what was Mojtaba Khamenei's role in the 2009 protests? Here are the unknowns about Iran's new leader...
After the death of Iran's religious leader Ali Khamenei due to airstrikes by the US and Israel, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was declared the country's new religious leader. He had not been heard from for several days after February 28. However, on March 3, Iranian state media reported that Mojtaba was alive and was "consulting and reviewing important issues of the country." On the evening of Sunday, March 8, the Assembly of Experts, consisting of 88 clerics responsible for selecting the new leader, announced that the new leader was Mojtaba Khamenei.
ROSE TO PROMINENCE WITH THE GREEN MOVEMENT
Mojtaba Khamenei's name frequently came up during the protests known as the "Green Movement," which began after the presidential elections in Iran in 2009. Some opposition politicians and international observers claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei was influential in suppressing the protests by security forces. These claims were never officially confirmed by the Iranian government, but discussions about Mojtaba Khamenei's influence over security institutions continued for a long time.
According to some claims in the international press:
- He was influential within the Revolutionary Guards and Basij
- He played a role in coordinating security operations
- He worked closely with groups advocating for a harsh intervention to suppress the protests
These claims were never officially confirmed by the Iranian government. However, discussions about Khamenei's influence over security institutions continued for a long time.
WHAT IS THE GREEN MOVEMENT?
The protests that began after the presidential elections in Iran in 2009 are considered one of the largest political movements in the country's history. When it was announced that the then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received approximately 63% of the votes in the elections held on June 12, 2009, opposition candidates and their supporters claimed that the election results were manipulated. In response, millions of people took to the streets in many cities, especially in the capital Tehran. These protests were later referred to as the "Green Movement."
WHO ORGANIZED THE GREEN MOVEMENT?
The mass protest movement known as the "Green Movement" emerged after the 2009 elections in Iran. This movement was shaped more by the collective efforts of reformist groups who found the election results unjust than by a single organizer.
Among the prominent leaders and figures:
- Mir-Hossein Mousavi – the reformist presidential candidate of the time, symbolic leader of the movement
- Mehdi Karroubi – reformist politician, supported alongside Mousavi
The organization of the movement primarily took place through civil society groups, social media, and young activists; there was no central single organizer.
A PROFILE DISTANT FROM THE PUBLIC
56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei has not made any public statements regarding the leadership issue to date. The possibility of religious leadership passing from father to son in Iran is considered a very sensitive topic as it may evoke the Pahlavi monarchy before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Although Khamenei is an influential figure in political and religious spheres, he has maintained a profile distant from the public for many years. Many Iranians express that they have never even heard his voice because he does not give public conferences, read Friday sermons, or make political speeches.
CLOSE RELATIONS WITH THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS
Mojtaba Khamenei, known to have established close relations with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards since his youth, is reported to have served in the Habib Brigade during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and participated in various operations. According to some reports in Western media, it is also claimed that Khamenei established a vast economic network with assets in different countries during the period of sanctions imposed on Iran. Although it is suggested that billions of dollars in financial transactions were carried out through this network, there is no official confirmation regarding these claims.