Iranian body to meet within a day to choose next supreme leader: local media

A member of the Assembly of Experts said Saturday the clerical body could meet within 24 hours to select Iran’s next supreme leader, Iranian media reported.

“With divine assistance, this session will occur within the next twenty-four hours,” said Hossein Mozafari, one of the assembly’s 88 members, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.

The announcement comes a week after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in a joint attack by the United States and Israel.

Mozafari also urged the public to avoid speculation about the succession process.

He called on Iranians to “refrain from any speculation and the spreading of rumors regarding this matter,” noting that the assembly had not yet formally convened.

Succession process

Under Iran’s political system, the Assembly of Experts — a powerful clerical body — is responsible for appointing the country’s supreme leader, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic.

The supreme leader holds ultimate authority over Iran’s armed forces, judiciary, and major state policies, making the role the most powerful position in the country.

Following Khamenei’s death, a temporary leadership council including President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni‑Ejei, and senior cleric Alireza Arafi has assumed interim responsibilities until a new leader is chosen.

Who could succeed Khamenei

Several senior clerics have been mentioned as possible contenders to replace Khamenei.

Among them is Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, who is believed to have support from hardline factions and elements within Iran’s powerful security establishment.

Other figures often mentioned in succession discussions include Mohseni-Ejei, a conservative cleric who currently heads the judiciary, and Arafi, a senior religious figure who serves on the leadership council.

Additional names raised by analysts include clerics such as Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri and reform-leaning cleric Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder.

Khamenei led Iran for more than three decades after becoming the country’s second supreme leader in 1989, succeeding Ruhollah Khomeini following the founder’s death.