Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran since March 2026, has sometimes been called an ayatollah since 2022 and has taught seminary courses in Qom that are usually reserved for senior-ranking ayatollahs. But at the time of his appointment most observers considered him a hojatoleslām, a mid-ranking cleric, and he certainly did not enjoy the popular repute that an ayatollah is supposed to generate organically. His father Ali Khamenei was also a hojatoleslām at the time of his accession as supreme leader, but he was declared ayatollah upon his appointment.
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