TEHRAN, IRAN — The Assembly of Experts, the Iranian clerical body responsible for selecting the country’s supreme leader, has announced that a successor to the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been chosen, although the name has not yet been publicly disclosed .
Senior Iranian cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda confirmed on Sunday that the assembly had held its vote and selected a new leader, dismissing any suggestions that a decision had not been reached as “completely false”
. Under Iran’s constitution, no one, including members of the assembly, has the right to change the decision once made.
The announcement comes just over a week after Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28
. The conflict has since escalated, with Iran launching retaliatory drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf nations hosting US military assets.
Mohsen Heydari, a member of the selection body, stated that “the most suitable candidate, approved by the majority of the Assembly of Experts, has been determined”
. Another member, Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, confirmed that “a firm opinion reflecting the majority view has been reached”.
The official announcement of the new leader’s identity depends on Ayatollah Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, who heads the assembly’s secretariat and is responsible for communicating the decision to the public.
Reports in recent days had suggested that Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, the son of the late supreme leader, emerged as an early frontrunner
. However, his appointment remains uncertain, as critics view the move as potentially entrenching power within one family, and father-to-son succession is frowned upon within Iran’s Shia clerical establishment, particularly in a republic born from the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979.
US President Donald Trump had earlier insisted on personal involvement in selecting Iran’s next leader, dismissing Mojtaba Khamenei as “a lightweight”
. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi firmly rejected any foreign interference, stating, “We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. It is only the business of the Iranian people and nobody else’s”.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has warned that it “will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor”
In a social media post in Persian, the Israeli military reiterated its commitment to targeting any figure chosen to replace Khamenei.
The Assembly of Experts, composed of 88 Islamic law scholars, is responsible under Iran’s constitution for selecting, supervising, and if necessary, dismissing the supreme leader
. The selection requires only a simple majority vote.
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