A quiet political shake-up is unfolding behind the scenes of Iran’s religious power structure.
Ahmad Khatami, once a seemingly untouchable hardline cleric, has been stripped of his position in the Supreme Council for the Management of Qom Seminaries.
The development intensifies speculation about leadership succession, particularly the potential rise to power of Mojtaba Khamenei.
Mehdi Nasiri, the former editor-in-chief of Keyhan newspaper, previously highlighted tensions surrounding the succession. He pointed out that Khatami and Ebrahim Raisi had opposed Mojtaba Khamenei’s leadership during an Assembly of Experts meeting.
Nasiri claimed that during the last session of the previous Assembly of Experts, some members discussed Mojtaba Khamenei’s potential leadership, sparking reactions from clerics like Ebrahim Raisi and Ahmad Khatami.
According to Nasiri, the session became chaotic and was ultimately canceled.
Shortly before the new Assembly convened, Raisi died in a helicopter crash, and Khatami did not join the leadership board of the new Assembly.
Gholamali Rajaei, an advisor to the late president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, added complexity to the narrative by calling on the Assembly of Experts to reject what he termed “Bin Salmanism.”
He also revealed that the Assembly’s special committee had previously shortlisted Rafsanjani and Raisi as potential successors.
Rajaei further indicated that some individuals no longer in the Assembly were also considered candidates. His statement suggested deeper political maneuvering within Iran’s clerical establishment.
While Ahmad Khatami never held a significant executive role, his name was occasionally mentioned among potential leadership candidates.
Khatami has long emphasized his clerical standing, insisting in interviews with news agencies that he be referred to by the title “Ayatollah,” which is a must for the top job.
In the ninth term of the Supreme Council for the Management of Qom Seminaries, Hashem Hosseini Bushehri and Ahmad Khatami were removed, with Mohammad Gharavi and Mahmoud Abdollahi replacing them.
The appointment and dismissal of council members are based on proposals from the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom and approval from the Supreme Leader of Iran.
Hashem Hosseini Bushehri was the head of the Society of Seminary Teachers, the very body responsible for selecting council members.
However, Jamaran, a website linked to the family of Ruhollah Khomeini, reported that both clerics voluntarily opted out. Despite their names being included in the list proposed by the Society, they reportedly resigned.
The Society’s report did not specify candidates but mentioned that a committee was formed to evaluate and recommend individuals whose appointments were ultimately approved by the Supreme Leader.
Previously, some had suggested that Ebrahim Raisi’s presidency was a deliberate move to exclude him from the list of candidates for Supreme Leader.
These developments have sparked renewed speculation in Iran’s political circles about the potential succession of Mojtaba Khamenei after the death of the 85-year-old Supreme Leader, who has held power for 35 years.
Ahmad Khatami, once a student of Hossein-Ali Montazeri, the ousted deputy to Ayatollah Khomeini, was considered among Montazeri’s close followers but later distanced himself.
According to Mehdi Karroubi, the shift and Khatami’s extreme stances led to his “rapid and unusual rise.”
After Mohammad Khatami was elected president in 1997, Ahmad Khatami gained prominence due to the similarity of their last names. In 1999, he was elected to the Assembly of Experts from Kerman Province.
Born in Semnan, Khatami has said that Qasem Soleimani, then commander of the 41st Sarallah Division in Kerman, invited him to participate in promotional events in the province during the 1990s, which boosted his local recognition.
In 2005, Khatami was appointed as Tehran’s interim Friday prayer leader, becoming the youngest to hold this position in the capital at the age of 45.
Khatami often positioned himself as a mediator during disputes within the Assembly of Experts. For example, in 2009, he intervened to prevent the publication of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s written response to Mohammad Yazdi after a heated exchange between the two.
In 2020, following Mohammad Yazdi’s resignation from the Guardian Council due to health issues, Khatami was appointed as his replacement by the Supreme Leader, further solidifying his position.
Khatami is known for his controversial remarks. He declared the Persian festival of Chaharshanbe Suri – the Festival of Fire – forbidden in Islam and said that “being happy doesn’t mean breaking God’s rulesm, it removes joy rather than creating it.”
As Tehran’s Friday prayer leader, he frequently used harsh and extremist language against protesters, particularly during the 2009 Green Movement and the 2017-2018 protests. He labeled the 2017-18 protests as a “rebellion against the Islamic government” and called for the execution of protesters.
In 2015, as the spokesperson for the Assembly of Experts’ leadership board, Khatami announced the formation of a secret committee to identify potential candidates for the next Supreme Leader. He said that only Ali Khamenei had access to the committee’s findings and added, “If he wishes, the names of these individuals will be shared with him.”
Khatami also revealed that Khamenei had requested the Assembly to prepare ten potential successors.
He later criticized the misinterpretation of his statements, saying, “Some people misuse any comment in these areas. As soon as this is mentioned, they spread lies such as ‘the Leader is unwell’ or claim a crisis. The point is that evaluating leadership candidates is a core duty of the Assembly.”
Unlike figures like Ebrahim Raisi or Sadeq Larijani, Khatami has never held significant executive roles. While his name was occasionally floated as a potential head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei was ultimately appointed to the position.
He has also been mentioned as a potential future Supreme Leader. However, unlike Larijani, he lacks significant political backing and a strong support network, making him a less prominent contender.
Ahmad Khatami is the son-in-law of Mohammadreza Saeedi, who was killed in prison during the Shah’s reign. His brother-in-law is Mohammad Saeedi, the Friday prayer leader of Qom, who is known for his controversial claim that Ali Khamenei uttered the phrase “Ya Ali” at birth.
Khatami has six daughters and no sons.
In an interview, he expressed pride in being the father of daughters, saying, “I am proud to be Abu al-Banat [father of daughters].” He noted that five of his daughters are married, all to clerics, and three of his daughters are also clerics themselves. One of his daughters specializes in ear, nose, and throat medicine.”
In 2018, the appointment of one of his sons-in-law, Hossein Mirkhalili, as the head of the presidential office at the Organization of Budget and Planning drew public attention. Hossein Mirkhalili is a cleric, and his father, Ali Mirkhalili, was a representative of Minab in the Iranian Parliament.
Now, the fate and future of this hardline cleric, who consistently used the harshest rhetoric against dissent and frequently issued threats from the Friday prayer platform, remain uncertain.
Source » iranwire