Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, reappointed 69-year-old cleric Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei as chief justice for a second five-year term on July 5, 2026. The announcement came via text message during the funeral procession of Mojtaba's father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose remains were being transported from Tehran to Qom, then to Iraq, before final burial in Mashhad, according to Al Jazeera and Iran Press.

Mojtaba inherited the Supreme Leadership in March 2026, weeks after his father and four family members were killed in an air strike on February 28—the opening day of what Iranian authorities describe as the US-Israel war on Iran. He has made no public appearances since taking office. This reappointment is his most visible exercise of executive power to date. In his confirmation message, cited by China Daily Asia, Mojtaba Khamenei tasked Mohseni-Ejei with fighting corruption, pursuing "judicial transformation," and prosecuting crimes by what the decree called "arrogant powers" and "global aggressors"—terms the Islamic Republic uses to refer to the United States and Israel.

Mohseni-Ejei responded by pledging commitment to the government's objectives, addressing calls for revenge for the elder Khamenei's assassination, and renewing support for Iran's network of regional armed proxies and allies. He also promised action against hoarding and price gouging, reflecting economic strain on Iranian households.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi were all present at the funeral, according to Al Jazeera.

The Judiciary's War Record

Mohseni-Ejei's reappointment carries weight. During the 12-day military conflict, the judiciary under his leadership carried out near-daily executions of people arrested on security charges, including protesters detained during nationwide anti-government demonstrations in January 2026. International human rights organizations reported that execution rates reached their highest levels since the late 1980s—a period of mass political killings that remains deeply contested in the Islamic Republic's history. After the war, Iran's parliament passed legislation expanding prosecution of espionage and national security offences, further widening the judiciary's authority.

Keeping Mohseni-Ejei in place signals continuity in how the state handles internal dissent and security threats. The new Supreme Leader, still largely absent from public view while consolidating power, is maintaining the judicial system that managed the home front during military conflict.

The larger question concerns what Mojtaba Khamenei's leadership looks like once immediate crisis and mourning fade. His father spent 34 years balancing power among the IRGC, the clergy, the presidency, and the judiciary—a delicate arrangement the son has inherited amid sanctions pressure, postwar reconstruction needs, and an opposition movement that, despite current suppression, retains ideological roots. Mohseni-Ejei, embedded in the security-judicial apparatus since the 1980s, is a trusted figure across all factions within that system.

The reappointment via text message during a state funeral also reveals how authority operates in a system where the Supreme Leader's absence from public life carries political meaning. It demonstrates capability without requiring a public stage. In a state still processing the shock of losing its leader in wartime, this restraint may itself be a form of consolidation.