Ali Larijani emerges as main rival of Iran’s new Supreme Leader as ideological unease deepens

After Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as Iran’s next Supreme Leader, influential political actor Ali Larijani has emerged as his main rival and stands as a key impediment to a seamless transfer of authority in the country, according to Israeli media report. The prospect of Mojtaba Khamenei ascending to the leadership has raised ideological unease among segments of Iran’s clerical hierarchy. Although some of Iran’s senior clerical institutions have quietly rallied behind Mojtaba, divisions among the country’s political and security elites are expected to deepen. Sources indicate that certain senior officials worry that promoting late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son could be seen as establishing a dynastic succession, potentially weakening the Islamic Republic’s longstanding narrative of clerical authority and its revolutionary principles of governance. Thus, two primary political factions have emerged within Iran recently. The first faction has coalesced around Mojtaba Khamenei and is supported by security institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as IRGC. Prominent figures aligned with this group are said to include former interior minister and IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, as well as parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The second faction is centered on Ali Larijani and his brothers, who belong to one of Iran’s most influential political families, with leadership attributed to Ali Larijani and his brother Sadeq Larijani. Ali Larijani is a veteran figure, who held key positions, including Speaker of Parliament and head of the Islamic Republic’s national security council. His extensive network and established clerical credentials afford him considerable sway over both the executive branch and the country’s security apparatus. In the period leading up to the announcement of Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as the next supreme leader, reports suggest that friction also escalated sharply between Larijani and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. A source close to the regime characterized the scenario as a profound divide over both the process of succession and the question of who will wield ultimate authority once the leadership transition is completed. Several Iranian clerics and government insiders claim that the powerful Assembly of Experts has already conducted internal voting, effectively settling the leadership question. Nonetheless, insiders say that announcing the decision publicly has been complicated by ongoing factional disputes and concerns over the regime’s stability. An individual close to the regime’s inner deliberations described the situation as a “deep rift” over both the process of succession and the question of who will ultimately dominate the levers of power once the transition is completed.

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