Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has again emerged as a potential figure to succeed his father, who was killed on the first day of the war with the United States and Israel. No official announcement has been made by local authorities, but Israeli and Western media outlets have reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardline cleric, is the frontrunner to become the new supreme leader of the 47-year-old Islamic Republic. His mother, wife, and one of his sisters were also killed in the strike, but the younger Khamenei was reportedly not present, and has so far survived the intense bombing of Iran. Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivat...