Khamenei's son seen as possible next Supreme Leader

Mojtaba Khamenei (file image)
Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly survived the attacks which killed his father in Iran's capital. -AP

Mojtaba Khamenei, ‌son of Iran's late Supreme Leader, has survived the US ‌and Israeli air strikes on Iran in which his father ‌Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, two Iranian sources say.

Mojtaba is seen by the establishment as a possible successor to his father, the sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

A ‌mid-ranking cleric ‌with close ⁠ties to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, hardliner ​Mojtaba is one of the most influential figures in the Iranian clerical establishment.

He has for years been seen as one of the top candidates to succeed his father.

"He (Mojtaba) ⁠is alive ... he ‌was ​not in Tehran when the Supreme Leader was killed," one ​of the ‌sources said.

His father was killed on Saturday after ​the United States and Israel attacked targets across Iran - one of a number of military and other ​influential ​figures killed.

Iranian state ​media announced Khamenei's death early ‌on Sunday.

A senior Israeli official told Reuters the Iranian leader's body had been found, and US President Donald Trump said the United States had worked ​closely with Israel to target the man who led ​Iran since ⁠1989.