On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti Iran's new leader: 'His father on steroids'
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Mar 17, 2026 Qasra Arabi, director of the IRGC Research Group at United Against Nuclear Iran, specializes in Iranian military and Shia extremism. She traces Mojtaba Khamenei’s radicalization, seminary training, and ties to the IRGC. Discussions cover apocalyptic Mahdiism, the IRGC’s role as an ideological force, succession engineering, and what his rise means for power dynamics and prospects for de‑escalation.
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Mujtaba Khamenei's Unexpected Public Rise
- Mujtaba Khamenei rose quickly after his father was killed and was chosen by the Assembly of Experts with 59 of 88 votes.
- He had never held public office and was mostly unknown publicly before assuming supreme leadership in March 2026.
Raised Inside A Militant Revolutionary Bubble
- Mujtaba grew up inside his father's militant Islamist orbit and joined the IRGC at 17.
- He served in the radical Habib Battalion linked to early Hezbollah founders and ideological extremism.
IRGC Operates As An Ideological Revolutionary Army
- The IRGC is an ideological force tasked with preserving and exporting the Islamic Revolution rather than defending Iran.
- Its training emphasizes ideological indoctrination and endorses armed jihad against perceived nonbelievers and domestic opponents.