How succession works in Iran and who could be the country’s next supreme leader

Iran Enters Period of Uncertainty Following Khamenei’s Death in Airstrike

The death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after nearly 37 years in power has plunged Iran into a critical transition period that could reshape the country’s future. Khamenei, who was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike, leaves behind a power vacuum that Iranian authorities are moving quickly to fill according to constitutional procedures.

In response to the supreme leader’s death, Iran on Sunday formed a temporary leadership council to govern the country, as stipulated in its constitution. The three-member council consists of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and a member of the Guardian Council selected by the Expediency Council. This interim body has assumed all leadership duties while a permanent successor is identified.

The task of selecting a new supreme leader falls to the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member panel composed entirely of Shiite clerics. This influential body, whose members are elected every eight years, must convene “as soon as possible” to choose Khamenei’s replacement. However, the selection process is heavily controlled, as candidates for the Assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog known for disqualifying reform-minded candidates.

In March 2024, the Guardian Council barred former President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, from running for the Assembly of Experts. This move underscored the conservative establishment’s tight grip on power even before Khamenei’s death.

The succession question has grown more complex following the May 2024 helicopter crash that killed Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s hard-line president who was widely viewed as Khamenei’s preferred successor. This unexpected development has created speculation around other potential candidates, including Khamenei’s 56-year-old son, Mojtaba.

Despite his clerical status, Mojtaba Khamenei has never held government office, and his elevation could prove controversial. A father-to-son transfer of supreme power might spark backlash not only among Iranians critical of the theocratic system but also among supporters who could view it as creating a religious dynasty contrary to revolutionary principles. Such a move would be particularly ironic given that the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s hereditary monarchy.

This marks only the second transition of supreme leadership since the 1979 revolution. The first occurred in 1989 when Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolution’s figurehead, died at age 86 after leading Iran through its devastating eight-year war with Iraq. Khamenei’s death comes in an equally tumultuous context, following a 12-day Israeli military campaign against Iran in June 2025.

The supreme leader position holds vast powers within Iran’s complex Shiite theocracy. As the ultimate authority with final say over all matters of state, the supreme leader serves as commander-in-chief of both the conventional military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Under Khamenei’s leadership, the IRGC grew significantly in power and economic influence.

Designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019, the IRGC has spearheaded Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” – a network of militant proxy groups across the Middle East designed to counter American and Israeli influence in the region. The organization also controls extensive economic assets within Iran.

As internal deliberations continue behind closed doors, the choice of Khamenei’s successor will likely signal whether Iran intends to maintain its current foreign policy stance or potentially pivot toward more moderate international engagement. The transition comes at a particularly volatile moment for regional security, with ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and elsewhere in the Middle East.