Mahdi Mirbaqiri

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Ayatollah
Sayyid
Mahdi Mirbaqiri
مهدی میرباقری
Mirbaqiri in August 2020
Member of Assembly of Experts
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 May 2024
ConstituencySemnan province
In office
24 May 2016 – 21 May 2024
ConstituencyAlborz province
Personal details
BornMohammad Mahdi Mirbaqiri Shahrudi
1961 (age 64–65)
Qom, Iran
PartySociety of Seminary Teachers of Qom
Other party
Front of Islamic Revolution Stability (spiritual leader)
Qom Hawza
Military service
Allegiance Iran
Branch/service
Unit17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb Division
Battles/warsIran–Iraq War

Mohammad Mahdi Mirbaqiri Shahroudi[a] (born 1961; alternatively Mahdi Mirbagheri) is an Iranian ultra-hardline politician and Shia cleric. He is the head of the Qom Academy of Islamic Sciences, and is a member of the Assembly of Experts representing Semnan province. Mirbaqiri is also the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist Iranian Principlist Front of Islamic Revolution Stability (FIRS).

Born in Qom, Iran to a Shia clerical family, Mirbaqiri took part in the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979 against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as a teenager. He later fought in the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) as a member of the 17th Ali ibn Abi Talib Division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mirbaqiri is a high-ranking Ayatollah and represents the most conservative wing of the clerical establishment within the Islamic Republic of Iran.[1] He is a close confidant of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Mirbaqiri wants to accelerate the end of times by inspiring “widespread fighting” and a “comprehensive clash” with the West. He believes that Iran is more powerful than the United States, and that negotiations with the West are only good if Islamic civilization triumphs over the "infidels."

Early life and education

Mahdi Mirbaqiri was born in 1961 in Qom, Iran to a Shia Muslim clerical family with roots in the Shahrud region of northern Iran.[2] His father, Hasan Mirbaqiri, was a Shia cleric and preacher.

Mirbaqiri began seminary courses in 1975 at age 14.[3] He took part in political activities against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's rule around this time and participated in the 1978-1979 Iranian Revolution under Ruhollah Khomeini.[4] Mirbaqiri then continued Islamic religious studies under Mousa Shubairi Zanjani.[5]

Military career

Mirbaqiri fought in the Iran–Iraq War against the Ba'athist Iraqi forces as a member of the 17th Ali ibn Abi Talib Division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[5]

Political career

Mirbaqiri in 2018

Mirbaqiri was elected as the representative of Alborz province in the Assembly of Experts in the elections of March 2016.[6] He was elected as the representative of Semnan province in the Assembly of Experts in the elections of March 2024.[7][8]

Following the February 2026 assassination of Ali Khamenei, Mirbaqiri's name was raised as a potential candidate for the position of supreme leader prior to the 2026 election.[9][10] Howevever, his close confidant and Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, was eventually elected.

Views

Mirbaqiri is an ultra-hardline cleric.[11]

Accelerating the end of times through war

Mirbaqiri said in an interview that he wanted to accelerate the end of times by inspiring “widespread fighting” and a “comprehensive clash” with the Western world. [12] He believes that conflict between "believers and infidels" is inevitable.[13]

Negotiations with the West

On the subject of negotiations with the Western world, Mirbaqiri said that: “Negotiations are good, if Iran’s approach to them leads to the triumph of [Islamic] civilization, but if negotiations are carried out to cooperate with the society of the infidels, then they are bad.” He also opined that “Our competitors have understood that America is not all that powerful...You can negotiate with them and not surrender. If they exit the negotiations, so will we. [We are] ... more powerful than America."[14]

Science and religion

He has written about the relationship between science and religion as a theorist.[15] Mirbaqiri proposes that sciences can be categorized as religious or non-religious.[15]

Shia jurisprudence

Mirbaqiri is an expert on Shia jurisprudence and has issued several fatwas (religious verdicts) on various topics.

Notes

  1. Persian: محمد مهدی میرباقری شاهرودی

References

  1. "Who's running Iran now that the supreme leader is dead?". Yahoo. 2026-03-01. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  2. "محمدمهدی میرباقری کیست؟ از «نگاه آخرالزمانی» تا «مسند رهبری»". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  3. https://bonyadehedayat.com/member/%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%87%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B1%DB%8C/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://www.irna.ir/news/85391436/%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%85. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. https://snn.ir/fa/news/1184549/%D8%AA%D8%B5%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AC%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%B9%DA%A9%D8%B3. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "آگهی نتیجه انتخابات مجلس خبرگان رهبری در استان البرز". Alborz Province Government (in Persian). 28 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  7. "Ayatollah Mirbagheri became the representative of the people of Semnan province in the leadership experts". Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  8. "وبگاه فرهنگستان علوم اسلامی". Archived from the original on 2011-11-28.
  9. Ata Mahamad (2024-05-28). "Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri: Jalili Supporter or Future Supreme Leader?". Iran Wire. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  10. Rohollah Faghihi (2018-06-01). "Meet Iran's likely next hardliner-in-chief". al.monitor.com. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  11. "Iran's Leadership Transition in the Shadow of War with the U.S. and Israel". Soufan Center. 2025-03-01. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  12. Mosafa Salem (2026-05-10). "'Super Revolutionaries': The radical Iranian hardliners bent on sabotaging a deal with the US". CNN. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  13. Ata Maramad (2025-09-15). "Iran's Next Supreme Leader: The Five Men Who Could Replace Khamenei". Iran Wire. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  14. "Iranian cleric: War with the West would be justified on the grounds of religion". Al Arabiya English. 2025-09-15. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  15. Saeid Golkar. "Iran after Khamenei: Prospects for Political Change". Middle East Policy Council. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06.