Iran is close to naming a new supreme leader, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, as the country’s top clerics seek to show that the government is functioning after more than a week of punishing military strikes from Israel and the United States.
Three members of the Assembly of Experts, the group of religious leaders that is responsible for selecting the supreme leader, said that the group had reached a consensus on a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening blow of the U.S.-Israeli attack last weekend.
The Assembly of Experts reached a “majority view,” according to a report in Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, citing Mohammad Mahdi Mirbagheri, a cleric who is a member of the group. The report did not identify the successor and it did not appear that an official vote had been held, but Mr. Mahdi Mirbagheri said that “the matter will reach a conclusion soon.”
The question of who will replace Ayatollah Khamenei has also been much discussed by American and Israeli officials. The Trump administration has offered conflicting messages about its goals behind the military conflict, but it has been consistent in calling for regime change.
Last week, President Trump said that he should have a role in choosing a successor, and pointed to American involvement in installing a new president in Venezuela after ousting Nicolás Maduro, suggesting that could be a potential model for Iran. Mr. Trump added that it would be “unacceptable” for the clerics to choose the supreme leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who appeared to have emerged as the front runner.
Israel has said that it would look to kill any new leader chosen to succeed Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iran has delayed naming a successor because of security concerns, after the American and Israeli comments about how they would respond to the new leader.
Another member of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, hinted that the person was someone whom the United States opposed. In a video statement published by Nour News, a semiofficial news agency, Ayatollah Heidari Alekasir said the “Great Satan,” referring to the United States, had done the assembly “a kind of service” by publicly objecting to some figures, Nour reported.
“Someone who is opposed by the enemy is more likely to be beneficial for Iran and Islam,” Ayatollah Heidari Alekasir said, according to Nour.
Ayatollah Sayed Rahim Tavakkol, another member of the Assembly of Experts, said the clerics had “carried out their duty” and the successor would be named soon, according to a report in Fars, an Iranian news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He added that the group has been under intense pressure to “deviate” from announcing its chosen candidate.
Ayatollah Heidari Alekasir said that the clerics had been unable to meet in person to conduct their deliberations because of the American and Israeli strikes and had to communicate in writing and virtually. Last Tuesday, the Assembly of Experts’ office in Qom, a city in central Iran, was bombed.
Ravi Mattu is the managing editor of DealBook, based in London. He joined The New York Times in 2022 from the Financial Times, where he held a number of senior roles in Hong Kong and London.
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