Iran has appointed a new Supreme Leader following the killing of Ali Khamenei in an airstrike last week, according to members of the influential clerical body responsible for selecting the country’s top authority.
Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, announced that the vote to appoint the new leader had already taken place, but the identity of the successor has not yet been revealed.
“The vote to appoint the leader has occurred, and the leader has been chosen,” Alamolhoda told Iranian state media.
He indicated that Hosseini Bushehri, head of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Experts, would formally announce the decision later in the day, as reported by the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
Another Assembly member, Ayatollah Heidari, stated that the “best option” had been selected and had gained majority support within the body, according to ISNA.
This leadership change comes just days after Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a joint military operation conducted by the United States and Israel. Among the candidates frequently mentioned as potential successors is Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s 56-year-old son.
Mojtaba is believed to have strong ties to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which, according to reports, has been advocating for his selection among the Assembly of Experts.
Despite his significant influence behind the scenes, Mojtaba Khamenei is not a senior cleric and has never held an official position within the Iranian political system. However, he did serve in the Iranian armed forces during the war with Israel, a background that could enhance his standing with the country’s security establishment.
Israel has already issued a stern warning to whoever ultimately takes on the role, signalling that its efforts to counter Iranian military capabilities will persist despite the change in leadership.
The Israeli Defence Forces said in a post on X: “Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which has not convened for decades, will soon gather in the city of Qom.
We want to tell you that the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor.
We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either. This is a warning!”
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