Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death brings Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s grandson into focus
The killing of 86-year-old Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack has brought new urgency to the question of who will be the next Supreme Leader; This was an issue that could not be clarified despite his age.
Hassan Khomeini is the most prominent of the late Ayatollah’s 15 grandchildren and is seen as a relatively moderate among Iran’s clergy. He has close ties to reformists such as former president Mohammed Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, both of whom pursued policies of engaging with the West while in office.
Khomeini, 53, has a symbolically important role in public life as the guardian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in southern Tehran. He has never served in government.
Some politicians in Iran see him as a rival of hard-liners who have gained influence under Khamenei’s rule, especially his son Mojtaba.
The case for appointing a moderate successor to Khamenei gained momentum among some Iranian politicians after the unrest that swept Iran in January as a way to support the Islamic Republic in the face of expanding opposition.
Khomeini ASKED FOR RESPONSIBILITY FOR AMINI’S DEATH
Although loyal to the Islamic Republic established after the Shah’s overthrow in 1979, Khomeini has a history of promoting reform and has occasionally voiced opposition to the authorities.
In 2021, he criticized the Guardian Council, the arm of the Iranian theocracy responsible for vetting presidential candidates, after reformists blocked his candidacy. The council’s move paved the way for the victory of conservative Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
“You can’t pick someone for me and tell me to vote for them!” Khomeini said at the time.
He also demanded accountability following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman, after she was detained by morality police accused of violating the conservative dress code; This incident sparked protests across the country.
“The authorities need to be held transparently and precisely accountable for what happened to this 22-year-old girl under the pretext of ‘guidance and education’,” he said.
But the mid-ranking cleric also criticized protesters who chanted slogans against Khamenei, a reflection of his commitment to the system.
During the unrest that swept Iran in December and January — the deadliest since the 1979 revolution — he rallied behind the establishment, accusing the rebels of serving Israel, participating in a pro-government march, and likening some of the violence to the actions of the Islamic State.
In his letter of condolence, Khomeini stated that Khamenei will forever “be the hero of the Iranian people and Muslims” and added: “The noble people of Iran will overcome this incident and once again walk in the path of the Imam (Khomeini).”
‘PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGY’
Speaking to Reuters in 2015, a close friend of Khomeini described him as a progressive theologian, especially on music, women’s rights and social freedom. He follows trends on social media and is interested in Western philosophy as well as Islamic thought.
His wife Sayyeda Fatima is the daughter of an Ayatollah and they have four children.
Some reformers invited him to run for president in 2012, but he declined.
Khomeini supported Rouhani’s government, which negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal that eased sanctions in exchange for limits on the nuclear program; until US President Donald Trump tore up the agreement in 2018.
He has spoken openly about the economic hardships Iranians have endured during years of sanctions over the nuclear program.
HE WAS PREVENTED FROM ATTENDING THE MEETINGS OF EXPERTS
A decade ago, Khomeini tried to run in elections for the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for electing the Supreme Leader.
He received initial approval for his candidacy from Khamenei; Khamenei reportedly approved and also warned Khomeini not to do any damage to his grandfather’s name. However, he was later disqualified by the Guardian Council.
Although religious references were cited for the disqualification (Khomeini holds the cleric rank of Khojat al-Aslam, one level below the Ayatollah), the move was thought to be aimed at preempting a potential challenge from the reformist camp.
He was thought to be critical of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) when he said in a 2008 interview that those claiming loyalty to his grandfather’s legacy should comply with the military’s order to stay away from politics. Yet it has close ties to the Guard, an elite force tasked with protecting the Islamic Revolution.
During the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran last year, Khomeini wrote a letter to Khamenei praising his leadership and said Iranian missiles had become a nightmare for Israel and a source of satisfaction for the Iranian nation, according to Jamaran, an Iranian news website dedicated to Khomeini’s memory.
Khomeini described Israel as an “evil Zionist regime” and a “cancerous tumor” supported by the West, and said the Muslim world must keep itself strong to oppose Zionism, Jamaran reported.
According to the biography, he was fluent in Arabic and English and was a keen football player until the age of 21, when his grandfather insisted that he go to the city of Qom to study Islamic theology.
