Mojtaba Khamenei

Force in Play

Has not appeared publicly since his father's killing in February; regime communicates via written statements and, per reports, AI-generated videos; hardliners accuse Ghalibaf and Pezeshkian of staging a 'coup' against him in his absence

Iran said on November 2 that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days and restart nuclear talks, shortening a plan it had earlier said would take a week. The offer kept its conditions: the US must lift sanctions on Iranian oil, accept a ceasefire that covers Lebanon, and let ships use a route agreed with Oman under Iranian supervision.

Updated 23 hours ago

Force in Play

Supreme Leader of Iran (designate); consolidating power amid military collapse and humanitarian crisis; praised Hezbollah for supporting Iran's war effort

The US struck surface-to-air missile sites on Iran's Qeshm Island late on November 2, in what officials called a limited, defensive operation on the eve of the midterms. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it shot down two US MQ-170 reconnaissance drones and an MQ-9, and that three oil tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz on November 3.

Updated 2 days ago

Force in Play

Replaced Iran's top security official and formalized new IRGC leadership on August 9-10; has not appeared publicly since taking power in March

Four oil tankers, including a supertanker carrying two million barrels, were on fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz on October 31, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said. The Guard said the ships used unauthorized routes and ignored warnings; a projectile also hit a vessel south of Lavan, and Oman evacuated 25 crew from a burning Panama-flagged tanker off Musandam.

Updated 4 days ago

Built World

Has not been seen publicly since the February 28 strike; barred from father's state funeral July 4-9 over assassination risk; may have been wounded in the February attack

Brent reached $116 a barrel by November 1 as OPEC met and Saudi Arabia's economy contracted 3.8% under the cost of the war and disrupted oil exports. Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline and resumed loadings at Yanbu in late September, but attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz kept traffic about 70% below prewar levels. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center recorded 144 maritime incidents in the Hormuz region since February 28, making October the worst month of the war.

Updated 4 days ago

Force in Play

Ordered Iran's military on October 31 to prepare an unrestricted response to any attack; leads Iran through ceasefire and renewed fighting

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been in the Arabian Sea since January. The George H.W. Bush and George Washington are also in the region, and the Theodore Roosevelt strike group is due by late November with about 10,000 more personnel, part of roughly 50,000 U.S. troops in the Middle East.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Absent from public view since early March; no return to public view has been reported as of mid-October. US officials told CNN on May 8 they cannot reliably reach him, a core obstacle to any binding deal. Iranian officials continue to say he is in charge but have released no authenticated photos or audio.

On Friday, October 30 (Day 245), Iran's Revolutionary Guard said three oil tankers hit mines or caught fire while using routes Tehran has not approved. It said one supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels struck a naval mine and burned. Separately, a small boat attached explosives to the tanker Louise 1 off Oman, causing an engine-room fire that was put out.

Updated 6 days ago

Force in Play

As of September 2026: Named Supreme Leader after father's assassination; issued first public address March 12

The US-Israeli war on Iran began February 28 and displaced up to 3.2 million people inside the country in two weeks, per the UN refugee agency.

Updated Sep 4

Force in Play

As of August 2026: Installed as Supreme Leader on March 9 under reported IRGC pressure; has kept a low public profile

The ceasefire draft that leaked in May became real on June 17, when Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding by video call, giving both sides 60 days to reach a final deal. Iran agreed not to build nuclear weapons under the pact. The truce broke on July 13: Iran struck two UAE tankers in Omani waters with cruise missiles, killing an Indian crew member, and the US resumed strikes on Iran and reimposed its naval blockade.

Updated Aug 20

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Hard-liner installed by the Assembly of Experts; unconfirmed reports of injury in early April

Japan imports 90% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, shut by Iran six weeks ago. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is attempting what her predecessor Shinzo Abe failed to do in 2019: talk Tehran down from the brink — but with far higher stakes and Trump's Tuesday deadline.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: In power since March 9, 2026; rumored injured or killed in early April strikes

The United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering what Washington calls Operation Epic Fury. Iran has since fired more than 525 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Nearly half carried cluster warheads that scatter dozens of smaller bomblets across wide areas, a weapon type banned by over 100 nations.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Leading Iran's war response as newly appointed supreme leader

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times. On April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran. The strikes killed at least one security guard and wounded five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Newly installed after father's assassination

Iran qualified as a non-host nation for the 2026 World Cup, then withdrew a year later—the first qualified nation in the modern era to do so for political reasons. Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali announced the withdrawal three months after U.S.-Israeli military strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and devastated the country's military infrastructure.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Named successor to his father

For more than four decades, US embassies in the Middle East and Africa have faced bombings, sieges, and missile strikes. None has been attacked in Western Europe — until an incendiary device detonated at the entrance of the US Embassy in Oslo at 1:00 a.m. on March 8, shattering windows and sending smoke into the street.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Selected by Assembly of Experts under IRGC pressure; legitimacy disputed

Iran's Supreme Leader controlled both the presidency and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for over four decades. Eight days after a joint United States-Israeli airstrike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that unified chain of command fractured.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Elected March 8, 2026 after father's assassination; reportedly injured in same airstrike; has not appeared publicly—first statement was read on state TV

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion—coordinated airstrikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes; his son Mojtaba was elected as the new Supreme Leader on March 8 but hasn't appeared publicly, reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in the same strike. Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for 20 percent of world oil trade. Pakistan brokered a ceasefire on April 8, but Iran re-closed the Strait on April 18 after the United States refused to lift its naval blockade imposed following failed peace talks.

Updated May 29

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Named third supreme leader on March 9, 2026; considered more hardline than his father; close IRGC ties

The December 2025 uprising was suppressed at massive cost. HRANA's February 23 report, 'The Crimson Winter,' verified 7,007 deaths—6,488 adult protesters, 236 minors, 207 security forces, and 76 bystanders—with another 11,744 cases still under review. President Pezeshkian publicly apologized for the massacres on February 11.

Updated May 26