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Khamenei’s attempts to replace his son as leader after his death

As a rule of thumb, all dictators are worried at the end of their rule about the future and who will grip power after them. Their attempts are geared towards somehow putting their children in their place in order to continue their rule. This is also true of Ali Khamenei, who is currently the undisputed dictator in Iran. Accordingly, he has tried to assign to the throne his son Mojtaba in the last months of his life. But given the kind of dictatorship that rules Iran, it's a little more complicated than other dictatorships like Syria, where Hafez al-Assad installed his son after his death.
On the one hand, Iran is no longer a monarchy where he can assign his son, Mojtab, as his successor, and on the other hand, according to the constitution of the same regime, which stipulates that the leader must be elected by the Assembly of Experts, he cannot nominate his son as his successor. Moreover, Mojtaba is much, much lower in ranks in terms of the level of religious knowledge and education than other mullahs to be recognized as the Supreme Leader by them. This has made it more difficult for him to succeed his father. But in order to eliminate these contradictions, Khamenei has been implementing for some time his plan to solve these problems step by step.
In the first step, in order to make sure that the Assembly of Experts would not oppose Mojtaba's nomination, he was able to select the majority of its members from among the faithful using the Guardian Council filter, which is responsible for determining the eligibility of candidates for the Assembly of Experts. The Guardian Council, which has 12 members, is practically all selected by Khamenei himself. According to the law, the members of this council are 6 clerics and 6 lawyers, of whom 6 clerics are selected by the leader and 6 lawyers are selected by the head of the judiciary. But the head of the judiciary himself is assigned by Khamenei. In other words, six lawyers are indirectly selected by the head of the judiciary at Khamenei's behest.
In the next step, Khamenei put aside all considerations in the last election in order not to face any problems in the government and the presidency, and conjured up from the ballot box Ebrahim Raisi, (someone not qualified for the presidency at all), by removing all possible rivals. The reason for this was that Ebrahim Raisi, known in Iran as the executioner of 1967, was one of the decisive figures in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in that year; as a result, there is no doubt about his affiliation with Khamenei and he even had to obey him and his son Mojtaba for his own survival. And it is not the case that, for example, previous presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or Hassan Rouhani, after a while, could somehow oppose Khamenei. On the same token, we saw that Raisi, by selecting most of his cabinet ministers from the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, showed that he came to carry out Khamenei's orders and only to suppress the people and not to serve people. In this way, Khamenei was relieved of his worries about the government and the presidency.
The next step in this direction was to place his men in the parliament. In the last election, Khamenei again used the leverage of the Guardian Council - responsible for determining the eligibility of parliamentary candidates - by removing candidates he thought might cause problems for him. This way, he was able to enter most of his men into the parliament and make it a homogenous bunch of his pieces. He also handed over the position of parliament speaker to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, one of the former commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and known as Chomaghdar (club bearing thug).
It is noteworthy that Qalibaf, when appointed as the mayor of Tehran, was involved in corruption and grand thefts of billions by handing over government lands to his men or special favors to those around him. He is known by the Iranians as a very notorious hated person. As a result, Khamenei was relieved that the parliament would not oppose Mojtaba's succession either.
Khamenei's only concern is from two institutions.
First, is the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps(IRGC). Khamenei had to take another step in reining them by obtaining the consent of their commanders. Although all the commanders were criminals and corrupt people, they were included in economic affairs, and large parts of Iran's economy in large holdings under Mojtaba Khamenei were handed over to them. These commanders were actually bought with big money and placed under Mojtaba. It should be noted that these commanders, in addition to being involved in large-scale theft and corruption, are also involved in the blood of the Iranian people. For example, they deliberately shot down a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020, killing 176 innocent passengers and crews, in order to prevent possible US attacks in the retaliation for the IRGC missiles on US forces at Iraq's Ain al-Assad base or to suppress the Iranian protests in November 2019 shot and killed 1,500 people in the streets of cities in 2-3 days.
Second, clerics outside of Khamenei's control who, in terms of religious knowledge, consider themselves even higher than Khamenei himself. Khamenei is trying to buy them with money and property. But when Khamenei dies, they may not accept Mojtaba's leadership for fear of the people’s rage.
Considering Khamenei's actions, it seems that all the contradictions and problems for Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father have been resolved, but in reality, this is not the case at all. Because Iranian society is now like a powder keg awaiting a spark to explode and destroy the entire ruling system. If this spark is not struck at the time of Khamenei, of course, all the data show that this spark will not be long away, but the death of Ali Khamenei will definitely lead to this spark immediately.
Khamenei himself knows this better than anyone else, which is why, as stated at the outset, he is extremely concerned because he knows that everything he has sown will soon be destroyed by the storm and flood of disgruntled and enraged people.
Cyrus Yaqubi is a Research Analyst and Iranian Foreign Affairs Commentator investigating the social issues and economy of the Middle East countries in general and Iran in particular.
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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