The Revolutionary Guard is a powerful force within the country's theocracy, answering only to the Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 37 years, was killed in a surprise joint US and Israeli bombardment on the last day of February. And his death triggered an immediate scramble in Iran to appoint a successor.
The killing in the second Trump administration's assault on Iran in eight months created a massive leadership vacuum. As the 86-year-old Supreme Leader held the final word on all major policies, his absence leaves the dual pillars of Iran's power structure - the clerical establishment and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - in a state of flux.
On Tuesday, the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical panel, convened to address the transition. Reports indicate that Mojtaba Khamenei is the frontrunner to fill his father's shoes and that the IRGC has heavily lobbied the clerical body to support his appointment.
However, the Iranian government, via the Consulate General in Mumbai's X handle, denied the claims, stating that media reports regarding potential candidates have no official source and are formally rejected.
Iran's All-Powerful Revolutionary Guard
The Revolutionary Guard is a powerful force within the country's theocracy, answering only to the Supreme Leader. Overseeing Iran's ballistic missile arsenal and conducting overseas operations, the force has returned to the spotlight as Iran widens its attacks across the Middle East.
The Guard operated parallel to Iran's regular armed forces, growing in prominence and power during a long and ruinous war with Iraq in the 1980s. Though it faced possible disbandment after the war, Ali Khamenei granted it powers to expand into private enterprise, allowing the force to become an economic and intelligence powerhouse.
It now operates its own intelligence services and has been behind a series of arrests and convictions of dual nationals and those with Western ties on espionage charges in closed hearings.
A "Thriller" In Qom
The circumstances surrounding the meeting were remarkably volatile. Israel claimed its missiles destroyed the building in Qom - a primary seat of Shia power - where the Assembly was allegedly meeting. However, the IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported the building was empty at the time of the strike.
Experts on Iranian politics consider Mojtaba a significant, if polarising, choice.
At 57, he was said to have had a major hand in running his father's office and maintains deep ties with the top echelon of the IRGC and the Quds Force, the branch specialising in unconventional warfare.
The Iran Guards, according to a New York Times report, pushed for his appointment. Their argument: Mojtaba had the qualifications needed to steer Iran in this time of crisis.
Read | Mojtaba, Son Of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Elected Iran's New Supreme Leader: Report
He first joined the Islamic military corps around 1987 and also served during the latter period of Iran's long war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988. The next year, his father replaced the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, becoming the supreme leader.
Mojtaba Khameini, per Iranian reports, holds a more uncompromising stance than his father and has been behind the violent crackdowns on protesters in Iran.
Experts say that if his name was indeed selected, it would be a significant choice as he was already familiar with running and coordinating security and military apparatuses, but not everyone will be happy.
While regime loyalists see him as a symbol of continuity, the segment of the Iranian populace that led economic protests - the initial trigger for US interference this year- is expected to react negatively.
Ali Khamenei's death had put the spotlight on more moderate candidates as well, such as Seyed Hassan Khomeini (the late Ayatollah's grandson) and Alireza Arafi, as a means of shoring up the country against widening dissent.
If the regime, however, decides to go for Mojtaba, it would send a clear message: the hardliners tied to the Revolutionary Guards remain in charge.
In a startling admission on March 1, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, suggested that some military units might be acting independently of central control. This followed strikes on neutral intermediaries like Oman and Qatar. "Our military units are now, in fact, independent and somehow isolated," Araghchi told Al Jazeera. "They are acting based on general instructions given to them in advance."
The joint US-Israel operation, which officials say was planned for months, took place on February 28 during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan and at the start of the Iranian workweek.
Iran responded to the strikes with its own counterassault and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its "most intense offensive operation" ever, targeting Israeli and American bases.
As the conflict enters its fifth day, the risks of a wider regional war remain high. While Trump recently signalled that "someone from within" the regime might be the best choice to take power, Mojtaba Khamenei may not be the successor Washington envisioned. He already carries a target board on his back. The Israeli Defence Minister has explicitly stated that any successor to Khamenei will be a "target for assassination."
Iran, however, seems to be prepared: "Each commander has at least three designated successors and we will not face a leadership vacuum if commanders are killed," an official said.
