Iran International
Mojtaba Khamenei’s rise to power amid a war with Israel and the United States—in which his parents, wife and a daughter were killed—has led many to wonder whether his leadership will be shaped more by vengeance than by strategy or reconciliation.
Inside Iran, political figures who disappeared from public view after the February 28 strike are gradually re-emerging through statements congratulating him on his elevation to leadership.
Among them are Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the former leader’s chief of staff, and Asghar Mirhejazi, his powerful security chief, who issued a rare joint message despite earlier reports that Mirhejazi had been killed in the attack.
Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also rumored to have died in a strike on his home, released a similar message.
These congratulatory notes appeared during one of the most solemn Shiite mourning periods, commemorating Imam Ali. At the same time, part of the country is mourning the former leader, while Mojtaba himself is grieving the loss of close family members.
State officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and security chief Ali Larijani, have recently appeared in simple, Zelensky-style military uniforms without insignia. All three have pledged allegiance to Mojtaba.
Social media has filled with dark humor about Ali Khamenei’s death and Mojtaba’s life expectancy.
More serious posts include the resurfacing of an old video circulated widely on X, reportedly with IRGC encouragement, in which reformist politician Faezeh Hashemi says she would prefer Mojtaba to the “fanatic elderly candidates” for leadership. Like others, she suggested he might introduce reforms.
Mojtaba’s record since 2005, however—particularly during elections and protest crackdowns—offers little evidence of reformist tendencies. Many analysts warn that Iran may become even more radicalized under his rule, noting his long-standing ties to vigilante groups involved in suppressing dissent.
Debate over hereditary succession has intensified. Critics argue that dynastic leadership contradicts the Islamic Republic’s founding principles. Others counter that hereditary succession mirrors the lineage of the Twelve Imams.
Members of the first group note that Khomeini’s son Ahmad was never allowed to inherit power—an argument echoed implicitly by some of Khomeini’s descendants, including his great-grandson Ali, on X.
Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei and former state TV chief and tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami have both said they have been close friends of Mojtaba for years, describing him as “modest” and “simple.”
Rezaei, who appeared frequently on state television after Khamenei’s death, has promised to share more about Mojtaba in the coming days.
State TV’s IRINN channel has twice acknowledged that Mojtaba’s leadership faced serious resistance within the Assembly of Experts. In an unusual live broadcast comment, one analyst even suggested opposition to Mojtaba might emerge from within his own support base.
Some media outlets, including Khabar Online, cautiously suggested this week that Mojtaba’s rise could signal a more prolonged and unpredictable phase of conflict, reflecting broader uncertainty inside Iran’s political establishment over the direction his leadership may take.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.