Consensus reached on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor, says Iran’s Assembly of Experts

The ⁠Israeli ⁠military warned that it would pursue every person in the Assembly of Experts who ⁠seeks to appoint ⁠a successor for Khamenei.

More than a week after the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the joint US-Israel attack, the clerical body, which is responsible for choosing his successor, has reached a majority consensus, as per Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammad-Mahdi Mirbagheri.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “nobody knows” who will be next supreme leader amid reports that the body responsible has Khamenei’s successor, CNN reported.

While addressing media, Araghchi said, “There are lots of rumors around, but we have to wait for the Assembly of Experts to convene and vote for the new Supreme Leader.”

Citing Mehr, CNN quoted Ayatollah Alam al-Hoda, a senior cleric in the Assembly of Experts that it was now up to the Assembly’s Secretariat, headed by Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri, to announce the decision.

Citing Iran’s Mehr news agency, Al Jazeera said “some obstacles” still needed to be resolved regarding the process. As per the Iranian constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts is authorised to select the country’s supreme leader.

As per Iranian media reports, the group of scholars had a minor disagreement over whether their final decision must follow an in-person meeting or instead be issued without adhering to this formality.

Amid the tense situation, an in-person meeting by the assembly for a final vote was not possible, Ayatollah ⁠Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, another member ⁠of the Assembly of Experts, said in a video released by Nournews. Hinting about the chosen leader, Alekasir said a ⁠candidate had been picked, based ⁠on Khamenei’s advice that Iran’s top leader should “be hated by the enemy” instead of praised by it.

“Even the ‌Great Satan [the US] has mentioned his name,” Heidari Alekasir said of the chosen successor. Generally, Iranians refer to the US as the Great Satan.

The remark follows US President Donald Trump’s statement that the late supreme leader’s son, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, was an “unacceptable” choice for him.

The killing of Khamenei, has led to widespread conflict in the Middle East with hundreds killed and several injured in Tehran and Jerusalem. As Israeli strikes continued to pound Tehran, the military warned that it would pursue every person in the Assembly of Experts who ⁠seeks to appoint ⁠a successor for Khamenei.

“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!” the Israeli military said in Persian in a post on X on Sunday.

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More than a week after the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the joint US-Israel attack, the clerical body, which is responsible for choosing his successor, has reached a majority consensus, as per Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammad-Mahdi Mirbagheri.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “nobody knows” who will be next supreme leader amid reports that the body responsible has Khamenei’s successor, CNN reported.

While addressing media, Araghchi said, “There are lots of rumors around, but we have to wait for the Assembly of Experts to convene and vote for the new Supreme Leader.”

Citing Mehr, CNN quoted Ayatollah Alam al-Hoda, a senior cleric in the Assembly of Experts that it was now up to the Assembly’s Secretariat, headed by Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri, to announce the decision.

Citing Iran’s Mehr news agency, Al Jazeera said “some obstacles” still needed to be resolved regarding the process. As per the Iranian constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts is authorised to select the country’s supreme leader.

As per Iranian media reports, the group of scholars had a minor disagreement over whether their final decision must follow an in-person meeting or instead be issued without adhering to this formality.

Amid the tense situation, an in-person meeting by the assembly for a final vote was not possible, Ayatollah ⁠Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, another member ⁠of the Assembly of Experts, said in a video released by Nournews. Hinting about the chosen leader, Alekasir said a ⁠candidate had been picked, based ⁠on Khamenei’s advice that Iran’s top leader should “be hated by the enemy” instead of praised by it.

“Even the ‌Great Satan [the US] has mentioned his name,” Heidari Alekasir said of the chosen successor. Generally, Iranians refer to the US as the Great Satan.

The remark follows US President Donald Trump’s statement that the late supreme leader’s son, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, was an “unacceptable” choice for him.

The killing of Khamenei, has led to widespread conflict in the Middle East with hundreds killed and several injured in Tehran and Jerusalem. As Israeli strikes continued to pound Tehran, the military warned that it would pursue every person in the Assembly of Experts who ⁠seeks to appoint ⁠a successor for Khamenei.

“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!” the Israeli military said in Persian in a post on X on Sunday.