Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a large-scale airstrike by Israel and the United States, according to Iranian state media on Sunday, a development that casts doubt on the Islamic republic’s future and raises fears of regional instability.
US President Donald Trump announced Khamenei’s death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians the “best chance” to “take back” their country.
Iranian state sources said the 86-year-old leader died in an airstrike that targeted his compound in central Tehran. Satellite images released by Airbus indicated the site had been extensively bombed, the AP reported.
According to Iranian state television, his death in his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the head of his duties, facing what officials call global arrogance.” Iran’s cabinet stated that this “great crime will never go unanswered”.
Who will lead Iran now?
The official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said a three-member council consisting of the president, the head of the judiciary and a lawyer from the Guardian Council will temporarily take over all leadership responsibilities in the country.
The process in the Iranian constitution after the death of the Supreme Leader
Under Iran’s constitution, the country’s next supreme leader is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of senior clerics elected every eight years in a nationwide vote. Candidates are vetted by the Board of Supervisors, a hard-line watchdog linked to Khamenei. In the 2024 election, the Supreme Leader’s allies won all 88 seats, according to the BBC.
Article 111 of the constitution states that until a new leader is elected, the duties of the supreme leader will be carried out by an interim three-member council. This body consists of the president, the chief of the judiciary, and a senior cleric from the 12-member Council of Guardians, whose appointment must be approved by the Council of Expediency, a high-level arbitral tribunal whose members are appointed by the Supreme Leader.
Read also | The Israel-Iran war is plunging the oil market into its biggest crisis in decades, an expert says
Although the Assembly of Experts is constitutionally required to select a successor “as soon as possible” after Khamenei’s death, the law does not set a clear deadline. If no contender wins a two-thirds majority, the interim three-member council could in principle remain in charge for an extended period. While its members are seen as loyal to Khamenei, the incumbent president’s stance, whether reformist or hardline, could subtly shape the political climate during such a sensitive transition.
Read also | Israel attacks Iran LIVE: ‘Khamenei killed in his office,’ Iranian media confirms
In practice, electing the Assembly will likely require connections with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Khamenei’s inner circle and office. Although the clerical body formally has the authority to appoint the next leader, the influence of these influential institutions at the heart of Iran’s power structure means that any successor will need their support.
Reports indicate that a three-member subcommittee within the assembly is compiling a “highly confidential” shortlist of potential candidates. However, the secrecy surrounding his discussions has fueled further speculation.
Meanwhile, Khamenei’s daughter and son-in-law, one of his grandsons and daughter-in-law were also killed in Saturday’s strike, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, citing unnamed sources.
Iranian authorities have declared 40 days of national mourning and declared a week-long public holiday in connection with his death, according to the AP.
About Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei was born into a clerical family in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, a center of revolutionary activism during the campaign against the West supported by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Like many other figures who later led Iran, he studied in the early 1960s under Ruhollah Khomeini at a seminary in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, before Khomeini was exiled to Iraq and later to France.
Read also | How Trump’s Iran Strategy Diverges from Regime Toppling in Iraq and Venezuela
Khamenei became active in the movement against the Shah and spent periods both in prison and in hiding. After Khomeini returned to Iran in February 1979 and declared an Islamic republic, Khamenei was appointed to the influential Revolutionary Council. He was elected the third president of Iran in 1981; in the same year, one of his hands was paralyzed during a bombardment carried out by his opponents.
With his thick glasses and reserved demeanor, Khamenei did not project the commanding presence or charismatic intensity associated with Khomeini, the architect of the Islamic revolution. He did not even possess a comparable religious certificate, initially holding the middle official title of Hojatolislam within the Shiite hierarchy.
After Khomeini’s death, Khamenei was elevated to the position of supreme leader and was quickly elevated to the rank of grand ayatollah, the highest clerical status, a transition that left him facing years of scrutiny and doubts about his qualifications.
