For the first time in nearly 37 years, Iran will have a new supreme leader. Until his death on February 28, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had dramatically shaped the Islamic Republic since succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. Khomeini was the country’s first supreme leader.
“Ayatollah” is a high-ranking title in Twelver Shia Islam, meaning “Sign of God.” It is awarded to senior Shia clerics who demonstrate exceptional religious scholarship and have the authority to interpret Islamic law. In Iran’s political system, it carries immense weight.
At the time he took office, Khamenei was an ayatollah. But shortly before his death, a change was made in Iran’s constitution allowing a lower-ranking Shia cleric, a position Khamenei held at the time, to become the supreme leader.
Iran’s supreme leader has the final say in all matters of state, above the president.
In addition to Khamenei, several other senior officials were also killed in the collaborative US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on Saturday. They include Abdol Rahim Mousavi, Iran’s army chief of staff; Aziz Nasirzadeh, defense minister; Mohammad Pakpour, top commander of the Revolutionary Guard; and Ali Shamkhani, Khamenei’s top security adviser.
Now Iran must choose Khamenei’s successor. But who is responsible for that decision, and how will the choice be made?
What Iranian Law Says
The selection process involves a temporary leadership council comprising Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, head of the judiciary; and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a jurist of Iran’s Guardian Council and head of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force.
“The selection of the new leader will be carried out by the Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the embassy said in a statement.
The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member body, directly elected by the people and composed primarily of senior clerics. According to the constitution, the assembly must convene within ten days of a vacancy to elect the new leader. In the interim, the temporary leadership council assumes control.
On Sunday, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, told Al Jazeera that the country could potentially elect a new supreme leader within “one or two days.”
Ejei and Arafi, already members of the leadership council, could be considered for the role. The president, however, is not a candidate. Other potential candidates outside the council could also be considered.
Frontline Runners
Alireza Arafi
Arafi is an ayatollah and was widely regarded as Khamenei’s close confidant. He currently serves as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts and is a member of the powerful Guardian Council, which vets election candidates and laws passed by parliament. Arafi also heads Iran’s seminary system, overseeing education for religious leaders nationwide. He is tech-savvy, fluent in Arabic and English, and has published 24 books and articles.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei
Mohseni-Ejei is a senior religious leader and has headed the judiciary since Khamenei appointed him in July 2021. He previously served as intelligence minister from 2005 to 2009, and later as prosecutor-general and first deputy chief justice. He is regarded as a hardliner aligned with the conservative wing of the government. During his tenure, Iran’s judicial system fast-tracked prosecutions and death sentences, making it one of the top countries in awarding capital punishment.
Hassan Khomeini
Hassan is the grandson of Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. While this gives him religious and revolutionary legitimacy, he has not held public office and appears to have limited influence over the country’s security apparatus or ruling elite. He serves as custodian of the Khomeini mausoleum and is known to be less hardline. In 2016, he was barred from running for the Assembly of Experts. His marriage to the granddaughter of Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is also seen as enhancing his geopolitical influence.
Mojtaba Khamenei
Mojtaba is the late Ayatollah Khamenei’s son and is popular among rank-and-file Islamists due to his close ties with his father. However, he has never held government office. He studied under religious conservatives in seminaries in Qom and is described as a hardliner with close ties to the Revolutionary Guard. Economic grievances, domestic repression, and foreign policy losses could work against him in the selection process.
