- By Shubham Bajpai
- Sat, 07 Mar 2026 11:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Iran's Assembly of Experts is set to meet within a day to choose the next Supreme Leader of the country. The deliberations on the succession of slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been underway for over five days, while the country is being governed by an interim council of three members.
The Assembly of Experts is a body of 88 clerics, responsible for electing the Supreme Leader of the country. As the discussions are underway, several names have been making the rounds for the position.
Among the prominent names are Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khamenei.
The development was revealed by Ayatollah Mozafari, an assembly member, cited by the Iranian media.
The succession process is underway as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran last weekend. Khamenei, while alive, never publicly named a successor.
Iran has a system of vilayat-e faqih (guardianship of the Islamic jurist). Under this system, a senior leader with political and religious authority can only be the Supreme Leader.
The country is being run by an interim council with three members: President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, hard-line head of the judiciary and Alireza Arafi, jurist and head of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force.
ALSO READ: Did US And Israel Miscalculate Iran’s Response? Where The Three Nations Stand After A Week Of War
Arafi, as an interim head, is serving in the place of Ayatollah Khamenei and will continue until his successor is selected. The selection of the next Supreme Leader is crucial as the war has already entered its second week with no side blinking an eye. Besides, Israel has already announced that whoever is selected as the next Supreme Leader will be its next target