The rarely seen Mojtaba Khamenei is a surprise appointment, but his accession is above all a statement of defiance The rarely seen Mojtaba Khamenei is a surprise appointment, but his accession is above all a statement of defiance W hen Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s new supreme leader , many observers reacted with surprise. For decades, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been a shadowy figure in Iranian politics, rarely seen in public and almost never heard speaking. He has never given