Who is Hassan Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini’s grandson? Could he be Iran’s next Supreme Leader? - Firstpost

The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has left a power vacuum in the Islamic Republic. The biggest question is: Who will be the next leader of Iran? Now, one of the names doing the rounds is that of Hassan Khomeini, a grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Khamenei's predecessor. Hassan Khomeini is considered relatively moderate within the Iranian establishment. He has close ties to reformists, including former presidents Mohammed Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, both of whom pursued policies of engagement with the West when in office. Some politicians inside Iran see him as a rival to hardliners who gained sway under Khamenei, notably his son, Mojtaba. Here is all you need to know about Hassan Khomeini. Who is Hassan Khomeini? Hassan Khomeini is the grandson of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, who oversaw the 1979 revolution. While the younger Khomeini, a cleric, has not held public office, he is considered a potential successor given his reformist views and his lineage. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson, Hassan Khomeini, during a visit to the shrine of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran. File image/Reuters Following the US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities last June, Hassan Khomeini started gaining focus as a frontrunner to succeed Khamenei. Amid conflict with the US, Khomeini could represent a more moderate Iran compared to Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba. According to Iran International, while speaking at his grandfather’s mausoleum in May last year, Khomeini remarked that dignity can arise either from war or from steadfastness in negotiation. In the past, he has been punished for his views. His strong connections to reformist circles led hard-line authorities to disqualify him from the 2016 Assembly of Experts election. Today, at 53, Khomeini serves as caretaker of his grandfather’s mausoleum in southern Tehran and has not held public office. Married to Sayyeda Fatima, the daughter of an ayatollah, he has four children. He is fluent in Arabic and English, according to a biography, and was a keen footballer until the age of 21, when his grandfather insisted he go to the city of Qom to study Islamic theology. A forward-thinking cleric? Although loyal to the post-1979 Islamic Republic, Hassan Khomeini has pushed for reform and at times challenged the leadership. In 2021, he took aim at the Guardian Council after it barred reformist candidates from running for the president's post. The council’s action ultimately paved the way for hardline candidate Ebrahim Raisi’s victory, who was later killed 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 after Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman, died in 2022 after being taken into custody by morality police, accused of violating conservative dress codes, an incident that ignited countrywide protests. Authorities "must transparently and precisely account for what has happened to this 22-year-old girl under the pretext of 'guidance and education'," he said. But, reflecting his loyalty to the system, the mid-ranking cleric also criticised protesters who chanted against Khamenei. However, during the unrest that swept Iran in December and January, the deadliest since the 1979 revolution, he rallied behind the establishment, accusing rioters of serving Israel, taking part in a pro-government march, and likening some of the violence to the actions of the Islamic State. After the killing of the Supreme Leader in a condolence letter, Hassan Khomeini said Khamenei would forever "be the hero of the people of Iran and Muslims". "The noble people of Iran will once again walk the path of the Imam (Khomeini) by overcoming this incident." Speaking to Reuters in 2015, a close associate described Hassan Khomeini as a forward-looking cleric, especially on topics like music, women’s rights and broader social liberties. He reportedly follows social media trends and shows as much curiosity about Western philosophy as Islamic teachings. Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran, Iran. File image/Reuters Hassan Khomeini supported the Rouhani government that negotiated the 2015 nuclear agreement, which eased sanctions in return for limits on the nuclear programme, until US President Donald Trump tore it up in 2018. He has spoken openly about economic hardships endured by Iranians during the years of sanctions imposed over the nuclear programme. When Hassan Khomeini criticised the IRGC Ten years ago, Hassan Khomeini sought election to the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for appointing the Supreme Leader. Khamenei is said to have given him the green light to stand, while cautioning him against doing anything that might damage his grandfather’s name. In the end, though, the Guardian Council barred his candidacy. Officials said his lack of higher religious credentials — he is a Hojatoleslam, one rank beneath Ayatollah — was the reason for disqualification, but many viewed the step as intended to block a possible reformist contender, according to a report in the Independent. In 2008, he was widely regarded as criticising Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) when he said in an interview that those claiming loyalty to his grandfather's legacy should follow his order that the military must stay out of politics. He nevertheless enjoys close ties to the Guards, an elite force tasked with safeguarding the Islamic Revolution, the report says. During the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran last year, Khomeini wrote to Khamenei praising his leadership and saying 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 Ruhollah Khomeini's memory. Hassan Khomeini has described Israel as the "evil Zionist regime" and "a cancerous tumour" backed by the West, and has said the Muslim world should make itself strong to confront Zionism, according to statements reported by Jamaran. With inputs from agencies