Iran’s Assembly of Experts said on Sunday (local time) that the 88-member body had reached a decision on the country’s next supreme leader without naming a chosen candidate, CNN reported.
The development comes days after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 targeting key military and naval forces in Tehran. Along with Khamenei, several other clerics and ministers were also killed in the conflict, which has now entered its ninth day.
Iran has a new supreme leader
Citing a senior cleric in the 88-member Assembly of Experts, the report said: “Leadership elections have been held and a leader has been appointed.” The cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, also said that rumors that tried to pretend that the Assembly of Experts had not yet decided were “pure lies”.
The announcement of the decision is at the assembly’s secretariat, headed by Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri, Al-Hoda added. According to the ISNA news agency, Ayatollah Heidari, who is also a member of the Assembly, said that the “best option” was chosen, which is approved by the majority of the members of the Assembly of Experts.
Is Mojtaba Khamenei the new Supreme Leader?
While the Assembly of Experts did not reveal the name of the next Supreme Leader, it indicated that it is someone mentioned by the “Great Satan”, the US. The head of the assembly’s secretariat said: “It is remarkable that even the ‘Great Satan’ referred to the name of an individual chosen by the representatives.”
Hardline clerics in Iran often refer to the United States as the “Great Satan.” Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said it would be unacceptable for Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to succeed him.
Trump wants a “great, acceptable” leader for Iran
Recently, a BBC report said that Trump wants to choose a “great and acceptable” leader for Iran after the country’s “unconditional surrender”. His remarks seem to emphasize that his current goal for Iran is not regime change, but total regime change.
Trump is also said to have made up his mind about Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was seen as the leading candidate to succeed his father.
How is the supreme leader chosen?
According to the Iranian constitution, Iran’s supreme leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body elected by the general public every eight years. Once the Supreme Leader’s position becomes vacant, the assembly begins deliberations on the next candidate and elects his successor by a simple majority. In the meantime, an interim three-member leadership council, also known as the Interim Leadership Council, is created to take over the roles and responsibilities of the Supreme Leader until a successor is definitively appointed.
