- 12 hours ago
His appointment comes at a moment of deep uncertainty for Iran, with a widening war in West Asia and growing domestic dissent. The transition echoes the dynastic politics of the monarchy that the revolution once overthrew.
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00:07A shadow figure steps into the spotlight.
00:12Mostava Khamenei is Iran's new supreme leader.
00:24Dynastic shift in an anti-monarchy revolution.
00:35Crown of Thorns, widening war to domestic descent.
00:45What will Mostava rise mean for Iran's future?
00:56What is next in the West Asia war?
01:07Khamenei's son, now supreme leader.
01:09That is our top focus on Newstrak.
01:16Good evening, you're watching Newstrak with me, Maria Shaquille.
01:20Iran has a new supreme leader and for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution,
01:26power has effectively passed from father to son.
01:31Mostava Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, has now stepped into one of the most powerful roles in West Asia.
01:39For decades, Mostava remained largely behind the scenes, building influence within Iran's clerical and security establishment while his father ruled
01:50the country for nearly four decades.
01:52His rise now comes at a moment of deep uncertainty for Iran.
01:58With the widening war in West Asia and growing descent at home, he is taking over a crown of thorns
02:06in many ways.
02:06So who is Mostava Khamenei, the man now leading the Islamic Republic, and what are the challenges lying ahead for
02:14him?
02:15Today, we look at the system he inherits from the Khamenei era and how he might shape Iran's future.
02:23Take a look at this report.
02:28A low-profile cleric who has long stayed in the shadows has now stepped into the spotlight.
02:35As Iran's new supreme leader, Muchtaba Khamenei stands at the centre of power in the Islamic Republic,
02:43taking over the position held for decades by his father, Ali Khamenei.
02:48A cleric from Qom, he built his influence quietly within the office of the supreme leader.
02:54Cultivating ties with powerful political and military figures.
03:00Those connections included close relationships with Iran's elite security establishment,
03:06particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
03:09widely seen as one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic's power structure.
03:14His lineage traces back to a clerical household.
03:17Muchtaba's grandfather, Said Javad Khamenei, was a respected Shia cleric.
03:22Muchtaba's father, Ali Khamenei, went on to become Iran's second supreme leader.
03:27Analysts say, Muchtaba played an important role behind the scenes
03:30during key moments of unrest and political tension during Khamenei's tenure.
03:35His influence grew steadily as his father aged,
03:38with many insiders long viewing him as a potential successor.
03:44But Muchtaba's rise is rooted in the history of the revolutionary system that governs Iran.
03:51The Islamic Republic was born from the Iranian revolution of 1979,
03:57when mass protests toppled the monarchy of Muhammad Reza Pallavi
04:01and brought a government of Ayatollahs to power under Ruhollah Khamenei.
04:09Khamenei became the country's first supreme leader,
04:12shaping a system where ultimate authority rests with a senior cleric
04:15who oversees the state, the military and the judiciary.
04:25When Khamenei died in 1989, power passed to Ali Khamenei,
04:31a former president who would go on to rule Iran for nearly four decades.
04:39Now, with Muchtaba Khamenei assuming the role,
04:42the leadership of the Islamic Republic passes from father to son.
04:46And this echoes the very dynasty politics of the monarchy
04:49that the revolution once overthrew.
04:53His father had said, I do not want my son to take over from me
04:57because that would become a successor from a father to a son,
05:01which is exactly what the Islamic revolution of 1979 was all about,
05:07to end hereditary succession.
05:10So this, the fact that Muchtaba Khamenei is now the new supreme leader,
05:17tells us much more about power politics in the system today.
05:22The hardliners have the upper hand.
05:25If they didn't, Muchtaba Khamenei's appointment
05:28would have been a question mark.
05:29Now it's become a certainty.
05:32The era of Ali Khamenei reshaped Iran's politics and its place in the world.
05:37Under his leadership, Iran expanded its regional influence
05:40through alliances and proxy forces across West Asia,
05:43while relations with the United States and much of the West remained deeply strained.
05:50Ali Khamenei argued that it is necessary to reject Western ideas
05:54on women's employment and gender equality
05:57and often responded to dissent with force.
06:04That led to the flashpoint of the 2022 protests
06:07that followed the death of Masa Amini,
06:09a woman detained by Iran's morality police for not wearing a hijab.
06:14Her death in custody sparked nationwide demonstrations
06:18that evolved into one of the most significant challenges
06:20to the Islamic Republic in decades.
06:25Women across Iran became the face of that movement,
06:28removing headscarves, cutting their hair
06:31and demanding freedom and equality.
06:37For many, the Khamenei era symbolized decades of repression
06:41and residents' worry that's going to continue under Moshtaba.
07:00Mohtaba Khamenei steps into power at a moment of extraordinary pressure.
07:04Iran faces economic strain from years of sanctions,
07:08a volatile security environment in the region
07:10and a young population that is increasingly vocal
07:13about demands for social and political change.
07:16He also inherits a system where legitimacy
07:18is closely tied to religious authority,
07:21something analysts say he is yet to prove.
07:23Within the ruling establishment,
07:25he will need to balance powerful factions
07:27that include clerical leaders, political elite and the IRGC.
07:32And most importantly, regional tensions,
07:35the war that has escalated across West Asia
07:37and deeply strained ties with the US and Israel
07:40will be the biggest hurdle for Moshtaba
07:42as he takes over the crown.
07:46At this stage, based on, you know, evidences
07:48and all the conversations and everything that's been said
07:53from the President Trump
07:56and the Israeli government,
07:58obviously he is not very safe
08:01and I don't think he will be safe.
08:04And my personal perspective or my personal wish
08:09is to, you know, get rid of this one as well.
08:12And that's for the good of the world,
08:15good of the Middle East.
08:17Whether Moshtaba can consolidate power,
08:20maintain stability and respond to those demands
08:22will not only determine the future of his rule,
08:25but also the future direction of the Islamic Republic itself.
08:29Take Shachan for India Today.
08:36Dr. Bail Awad is senior journalist
08:39and long-time West Asia observer.
08:42He joins me now.
08:43Dr. Awad, he steps into power
08:47at a moment of open confrontation
08:50with Israel and the United States.
08:52Does a new and relatively untested supreme leader
08:56in Moshtaba make Iran more aggressive
08:59or more cautious?
09:01Thank you for having me.
09:03I think it will be more aggressive
09:04being, saying that.
09:06Having said that, I would say
09:07because he was working for the last 10 years
09:09under his father's shoulders
09:11and he understand the system.
09:12He has been active among the Shia community
09:15in different posts he has taken.
09:17So he is a well-known figure,
09:19but he kept a low profile
09:20because even his father,
09:21before his assassination,
09:23actually what happened was
09:24he named three successor.
09:27His son's name was not there.
09:28But you all understand the sentiment
09:30in the street of the Iran
09:32and the Shia community
09:33when they wanted to have a father.
09:35It's not a dynasty-like, you know, appointment,
09:38because usually nobody in the religious body,
09:41the father or the son, takes over.
09:43So, therefore, there was a sort of,
09:45you know, sympathy wave toward him
09:47and the Republican Guard,
09:49the clergy of the 88,
09:51the government itself,
09:52the defense ministry,
09:54all the officials have voted unanimously for him.
09:58Now, his father died,
09:59his wife died,
10:00his daughter died,
10:01and his mother died,
10:03along with other officials.
10:05Definitely this man will be more than a hook,
10:07than a normal or a softener
10:09to come with the American term.
10:10Because what President Trump is saying,
10:12you know, he's been saying,
10:13I wanted to have a,
10:14you know, a complete surrender
10:16by the Iranian.
10:17And he will not have it
10:18from Supreme Leader Mustafa Khatimi on power,
10:22neither him nor the Israelis.
10:24And I think the amount of retaliatory attacks
10:27on Israel taking place right now,
10:29since the morning,
10:30it's clear indication
10:31that he is more adamant than anybody.
10:33And I think the Republican Guard are happy
10:35because they were pushing
10:37for a hard stand on Iran.
10:38And I think he has chosen rightly.
10:40Okay, so Dr. Avad,
10:41you've made an interesting point
10:42that his father
10:43had picked up three leaders
10:46as his successor during his lifetime,
10:48and Mojtaba was not one of them.
10:50So certainly,
10:52Ayatollah Khamenei did not want
10:54a successor from within the family.
10:57Absolutely.
10:58And now,
10:59now with this kind of change,
11:01which has happened,
11:02is this continuity of the Islamic Republic?
11:04Or do you see this
11:05as beginning of something very different?
11:07No, absolutely.
11:09It is a continuation.
11:10And that gives a clear message
11:11to the rest of the world
11:12that the government is intact,
11:13the supreme leadership are intact.
11:15Now they decentralized
11:16their ruling system
11:18and attacking all the militaries
11:20from different parts of Iran,
11:22where even if you kill
11:22the first, second, third leaders
11:24of the revolution,
11:26they still have somebody
11:27who can run the show for them.
11:28So I think he is the right person,
11:30as I said.
11:31And I'm sure,
11:32look,
11:33we are Asian,
11:33we understand the sympathy waves
11:35that comes and he has to deliver
11:37for the people.
11:38He definitely will deliver militarily.
11:40He will deliver for the public
11:41to ease the tension.
11:43And we have seen
11:44the rallying behind him
11:46by the Iranians,
11:47despite the Western narrative
11:49that there are demonstrations
11:50against him.
11:51By the way,
11:52the demonstration in the West
11:53is turning against those governments
11:55because now they're saying,
11:56look,
11:56what are you exactly doing?
11:58Are you really changing a regime
12:00or are you killing our people?
12:02I mean,
12:02how many civilians,
12:03they died,
12:03more than 2,000 civilians,
12:05including children,
12:06you know,
12:06the school 10 to 12 years old,
12:08including the stadium,
12:09200 people,
12:10168 children.
12:11What's going on?
12:12So therefore,
12:13this man have the mandate
12:15to carry on
12:16with the revolution in Iran.
12:18And that's why America now
12:19are in a dire consequences.
12:22The president of the United States
12:23is unable to understand
12:25what is his objective.
12:26First,
12:27he say it is a nuclear,
12:28though he said,
12:28I obliterated the nuclear
12:30in the last year attack.
12:31Then he said,
12:32the regime has changed.
12:33Then he said,
12:33I cannot do a regime change.
12:35Then his people say,
12:36I agree.
12:37You're saying rights,
12:39Dr. Awad,
12:40that he's constantly
12:41changing his goalposts.
12:42So the end game
12:43is not clear.
12:44So that brings me
12:45to my another question
12:46on Mushtaba's new leadership
12:48that he has taken charge.
12:50You know,
12:50from Hezbollah
12:51to militias,
12:52which are across
12:52Iraq and Syria,
12:54does Mushtaba
12:55inherit the regional network
12:58intact
12:58or will factions
12:59now compete
13:01to prove loyalty?
13:02I think most
13:03of the Iranians
13:04at the moment,
13:05everybody talk
13:06of the proxies
13:07of the Iranians
13:08that they have
13:09access of evil
13:10or access of resistance
13:12from Iran,
13:13Iraq,
13:13Syria,
13:14into Lebanon,
13:15into Palestine,
13:16into the Houthis
13:17and Yemen.
13:18The fact of the matter
13:19remains that
13:20these forces,
13:21to be honest,
13:21I mean,
13:22I'm following them daily
13:23and you know,
13:24they have never done
13:25any attack
13:25until the killing
13:27of Khamenei
13:28against Israel
13:30or against any country
13:31in support of the Iranians.
13:32So what they were doing,
13:33they were defending
13:34their own territories
13:35because they are
13:36under occupation.
13:37So this is the message
13:38which is the crux
13:38of the problem lies here.
13:40Now we can see
13:41the Hezbollah
13:41is fighting a war
13:43against maybe
13:44the will of all
13:45the Lebanese country,
13:47but he is definitely
13:48in support of Iran.
13:50Similarly,
13:50the popular front
13:52in Iraq
13:53is already taking
13:54their guns
13:54against the American
13:55interests in the region.
13:57Similarly,
13:58the Houthis are watching
13:59and they will be doing this.
14:00So there is no loss
14:02of control
14:03on those regions.
14:04When you kill
14:05a supreme leader,
14:06a religious leader,
14:07respected by people,
14:08you can anticipate
14:09revenge
14:10from anywhere in the world.
14:12Why you're subjecting people
14:13and doing this
14:14cold blood assassination
14:15which is a revoke,
14:17illegal,
14:17illegitimate
14:18and a violation
14:19of all internationals.
14:20All right,
14:21Dr. Awad,
14:22thank you for speaking
14:23to India today
14:23and thank you
14:24for joining us.
14:25Joining us now
14:25from Tehran
14:27is Dr. Fawad Izzadi.
14:30He is the Associate Professor
14:31of University of Tehran.
14:35Dr. Izzadi,
14:36Mujtaba Khamenei
14:37has largely operated
14:39behind the scenes,
14:41never holding
14:42a major elected office.
14:44In a system built
14:46on clerical legitimacy,
14:48does he have
14:49the religious
14:49and political weight
14:51to command
14:52to command
14:52Iran's establishment?
14:56You know,
14:57I think
14:57he was elected
14:59for three reasons.
15:02Three reasons.
15:03The first reason
15:04was his
15:05Islamic scholarship.
15:07You know,
15:07in Iran,
15:08the country's
15:09leader
15:10is not running
15:12the affairs
15:13of the executive
15:14branch.
15:15that is the
15:16president's job.
15:18His job
15:19is to
15:20be
15:21the spiritual
15:22leader
15:22of the country.
15:23It's an Islamic
15:24republic.
15:25And also,
15:27he would
15:28influence
15:29policy
15:32in
15:33sort of
15:34major,
15:35major ways
15:36in more
15:37important
15:38policy issues.
15:39He doesn't
15:40go into
15:41details.
15:42Mushtaba
15:43Khamenei,
15:45his religious
15:46credentials are
15:48quite extensive.
15:49He has been
15:50teaching at
15:50Islamic
15:52seminaries
15:53at the highest
15:54level for
15:55the last
15:5618 years.
15:57So he's a
15:58professor of
15:59Islamic
16:00theology.
16:02That's number
16:04one.
16:04If he
16:04was not
16:05a serious
16:06scholar,
16:08a high
16:08ranking
16:08scholar,
16:10he would
16:11not be
16:13able to
16:13be in
16:13this
16:14position.
16:14The second
16:15criteria
16:17is the
16:18ability of
16:19the person
16:19to do
16:20the job.
16:21And
16:22the people
16:23in the
16:24assembly of
16:24experts
16:26had this
16:27assessment
16:27that he
16:29can do
16:30the job.
16:30You know,
16:30he has
16:30been
16:32involved
16:33with
16:33different
16:35issues
16:36of the
16:38country for
16:38many years.
16:39He has
16:39been an
16:40aide to
16:41the
16:41country's
16:42leader.
16:42So the
16:44assessment
16:44was that
16:45he's able
16:45to perform
16:47the duties
16:47that he's
16:49expected to
16:49perform.
16:50And I
16:51think the
16:52third issue,
16:53because for
16:54the first
16:54two, you
16:55had other
16:56candidates.
16:57Other people
16:58could fulfill
16:59the first
16:59two
17:00criteria.
17:01We had
17:01a short
17:02list of
17:03five, six
17:03people, all
17:04of them
17:04could do
17:05the first
17:05two.
17:06But I
17:07think the
17:07reason he
17:08was chosen
17:08was because
17:10of the
17:10third issue,
17:11and that
17:12was the
17:12ability to
17:13create
17:13consensus
17:14among
17:15different
17:16stakeholders,
17:18political
17:18stakeholders in
17:19the country.
17:20Iran, like
17:21other countries,
17:22has different
17:23stakeholders.
17:25And it
17:26was the
17:27third issue,
17:28his ability
17:28to create
17:29consensus,
17:30forces, that
17:31resulted in
17:32him getting
17:34elected.
17:35I think the
17:35war had a
17:37lot to do
17:38with it.
17:39Trump, a few
17:40days ago,
17:40mentioned his
17:41name and
17:41said that he
17:42doesn't want
17:42to see him
17:43as the
17:43leader.
17:44So I
17:45think that
17:46helped the
17:48doubtful
17:48members of
17:49Assembly of
17:50Experts to
17:51actually do
17:52something that
17:52Trump didn't
17:53want to
17:53see happen.
17:56he's as
17:57anti-American
17:58hegemony as
18:01the previous
18:02leader.
18:03So that
18:04line of
18:05making sure
18:05that the
18:06U.S. and
18:07Israel cannot
18:07create a
18:09hegemony in
18:09this part of
18:10the world,
18:10that is going
18:11to be one
18:13of his
18:13priorities.
18:14So you
18:15have given
18:16me reasons
18:16why he
18:18was elected.
18:19But Dr.
18:20Izadi, the
18:21Islamic
18:21Republic was
18:23born out
18:24of a
18:25revolution
18:25against
18:26monarchy.
18:27You are
18:28saying he
18:28emerged as
18:29a consensus
18:29candidate.
18:30If
18:31Mustafa Khamenei
18:32becomes
18:32supreme
18:33leader,
18:33he's now
18:34already a
18:34supreme
18:34leader,
18:36doesn't
18:36that risk
18:36making the
18:37system look
18:38less like
18:39a republic
18:39and more
18:40like a
18:40dynasty?
18:43Yes,
18:44it does.
18:45And I
18:45think that
18:46is why
18:47he was
18:48reluctant.
18:49We have
18:50rumors that
18:50his father
18:51was reluctant.
18:53But
18:54remember,
18:55we don't
18:55have a
18:56monarchy.
18:56This
18:57assembly of
18:58experts,
19:00their job
19:01is not
19:02only to
19:03elect the
19:04leader,
19:04they supervise
19:05what he
19:05is doing.
19:06So they
19:06gather two
19:08times a
19:08year,
19:09they have
19:09a meeting
19:09two times
19:10a year,
19:11they review
19:12the performance
19:12of the
19:13leader,
19:13and they
19:14can dismiss
19:15that leader
19:16the same
19:16way they
19:17elected that
19:18leader.
19:18You don't
19:19do that in
19:20monarchies.
19:21In monarchies,
19:22you are a
19:22monarch because
19:23of your
19:26family.
19:27In Iran,
19:30the body
19:32that's
19:32actually
19:33ruling is
19:35an assembly
19:36of 88
19:36people,
19:37and they
19:38choose one
19:39person as
19:40sort of
19:41the leader
19:42to fill
19:43that position.
19:45And who
19:46knows?
19:47Maybe after
19:48we go
19:50through the
19:51difficult
19:51times that
19:52the country
19:52is going
19:53through,
19:55they would
19:56want to
19:57or
19:58Mushtaba
19:58Khamenei
19:59would
19:59volunteer
20:00to step
20:02aside and
20:03they can
20:03choose
20:05another leader.
20:06And under
20:07Iran's
20:08constitution,
20:08there is no
20:09fixed term.
20:11if the
20:12person is
20:13elected today,
20:14he can be
20:15dismissed next
20:15week.
20:16Okay.
20:17You know,
20:18some supporters,
20:19Dr.
20:19Zadi,
20:19are invoking
20:20the legacy
20:20of Ali
20:21ibn Abi
20:22Talib to
20:23frame
20:23Mushtaba's
20:24rise as
20:25a form of
20:26rightful
20:26succession.
20:27Is that a
20:28genuine
20:29theological
20:29argument or
20:30simply,
20:32one would
20:33say,
20:33political
20:33messaging to
20:34legitimize a
20:36transfer of
20:37power?
20:39I don't
20:40think that's
20:41legitimate.
20:42The issue
20:43of
20:46Shia
20:47theology,
20:48Shia
20:49Islam
20:49theology,
20:49that's
20:50imam
20:50at the
20:51leadership.
20:53And
20:54that is
20:55different
20:56with
20:57what we
20:58have in
20:58Iran's
20:59constitution
21:00because
21:01these people
21:02are not
21:03imams.
21:03In Shia
21:04theology,
21:05there were
21:0512 imams
21:06and that
21:07was it.
21:09So the
21:09leader of
21:10Iran is
21:12not an
21:12imam in
21:13that sense.
21:14And those
21:16theological
21:17issues do
21:19not apply
21:19to that
21:20person.
21:21Okay,
21:22you know,
21:23Mushtaba
21:25Khamenei is
21:26believed to
21:26have deep
21:27links with
21:27the IRGC,
21:29which is the
21:30Islamic
21:30Revolutionary
21:31Guard
21:31Corps.
21:32I've been
21:32reading a lot
21:32of articles
21:33which actually
21:33suggest so.
21:34does this
21:35rise signal
21:36a more
21:37securitized
21:39IRGC
21:40dominated
21:40Iran or
21:41continuity
21:42with the
21:43current
21:43system?
21:47You know,
21:48like India,
21:50the military
21:52leadership in
21:54Iran is
21:54under civilian
21:55supervision and
21:57direction.
21:58And under
21:59Iran's
21:59constitution,
22:00the leader
22:01is commander
22:02in chief.
22:04So the
22:05influence of
22:05leader on
22:06military is
22:08much greater
22:08than vice
22:09versa.
22:10And this
22:11is what we
22:11have had in
22:12the last 47
22:13years.
22:13This is what
22:14we will have
22:15in many
22:16decades to
22:16come.
22:18All right,
22:19Dr.
22:19Fatherzadi,
22:20thank you for
22:20joining us and
22:21explaining to
22:22us the
22:23significance of
22:24the new
22:25supreme leader
22:26that Iran
22:27has,
22:28Mushtaba
22:29Khamenei,
22:29what does it
22:30actually mean
22:31for Iran and
22:32also what does
22:33it mean for
22:34this ongoing
22:34war?
22:35Thanks so
22:35much for
22:36watching and
22:37we are putting
22:37out this
22:38entire interview
22:39on our
22:40website and
22:41also on the
22:41YouTube channel.
22:42I'll be seeing
22:43you tomorrow.
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