Iran’s shadowy clerical council has picked Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s replacement. They just aren’t ready to tell the world yet — and that secrecy may be the most revealing part.
The 88-member Assembly of Experts reportedly wrapped up its deliberations this weekend, selecting a new supreme leader following the death of Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28. Khamenei had ruled Iran for 37 years. Now, after nearly four decades of iron-fisted theocracy, his successor has been chosen — but his identity remains under wraps.
“The most suitable candidate, approved by the majority of the Assembly of Experts, has been determined,” said assembly member Mohsen Heydari, speaking through Iran’s ISNA news agency. Another member, Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, confirmed in a video released by Fars news agency that “a firm opinion reflecting the majority view has been reached.” So they’ve got their guy. They just won’t say who he is.
Here’s what they will say: he’s someone Washington doesn’t like.
You think?
He said the “Great Satan” – Iran’s term for the US – had inadvertently done the assembly “a kind of service” by publicly criticising certain candidates. His remarks appeared to refer to comments by Donald Trump, who said it would be unacceptable for clerics to select Khamenei’s son Mojtaba as successor.
“Someone opposed by the enemy is more likely to benefit Iran and Islam,” Heidari Alekasir said.
The Israeli military warned it would continue pursuing every successor of Iran’s late supreme leader. In a post on X in Farsi, the Israeli military also said it would pursue every person who sought to appoint a successor for Khamenei.
In recent days, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, emerged as an early frontrunner. His appointment is far from certain as critics would view the move as entrenching a regime accused by rights groups of killing at least 7,000 people in recent months. In addition, a father-to-son succession is also frowned upon within Iran’s Shia clerical establishment, particularly in a republic born from the overthrow of a monarchy in 1979.
Israel hasn’t been subtle about what happens next either.
In a post on X written in Farsi, the Israeli military declared it would continue “pursuing every successor of Iran’s late supreme leader” — and go after anyone involved in appointing that successor. That’s a direct message to every member of the Assembly of Experts: the job comes with a target on your back.
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As for who the new supreme leader might be, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the now deceased former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is reportedly the frontrunner. However, The Guardian notes that this doesn’t guarantee he was selected.
His appointment is far from certain as critics would view the move as entrenching a regime accused by rights groups of killing at least 7,000 people in recent months. In addition, a father-to-son succession is also frowned upon within Iran’s Shia clerical establishment, particularly in a republic born from the overthrow of a monarchy in 1979.
A new supreme leader is coming. Whoever he is, he’s inheriting a regime under siege, a military machine running on fumes and ideology, and a region that is aligning against it.
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