In the wake of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, reports describe Iran as having activated its constitutional succession process while a temporary leadership structure begins governing day-to-day affairs. Multiple accounts state that an interim council has been formed to steer the country until a permanent successor is selected, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly saying the interim leadership council has already started its work.
The interim council: who is in it, and what it is meant to do
One widely reported description of the interim arrangement says the country is being guided by a provisional council composed of three senior figures: the president, the head of the judiciary, and a senior cleric linked to the Guardian Council. In one report, Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi is specifically named as having been appointed to the interim leadership council, with an explanation that the interim body is expected to run the country until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent supreme leader “as soon as possible.”
Pezeshkian, in a recorded statement broadcast by state television, is quoted as saying the interim leadership council has begun operating and that the state will continue along the path set by the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
How the permanent successor is chosen: the Assembly of Experts
Several accounts outline the same institutional endpoint: the next supreme leader is expected to be chosen by the Assembly of Experts—an 88-member body of Shiite clerics. The reporting emphasizes that this body is legally required to move quickly to name a successor, and that it is composed of clerics who are publicly elected but whose candidacies are vetted through the state’s supervisory structures.
One account frames this as only the second leadership transition of this kind since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, underscoring the political weight of the decision and the likelihood that the selection will shape Iran’s nuclear policy, regional posture, and relations with the West.
How soon could a new leader be named? “One or two days,” a senior official says
One report cites Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi as saying the selection of a new supreme leader could happen within “one or two days.” In the same account, he is quoted describing the interim arrangement as a three-member transitional mechanism that assumes leadership responsibilities before a permanent leader is chosen.
Revolutionary Guard influence and the struggle over where real power sits
A central theme across the reports is uncertainty about whether the formal constitutional process will be decisive on its own, or whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and security institutions will have outsized influence over the outcome. One report states that the IRGC and a senior security figure, Ali Larijani, are expected to play pivotal roles during the transition, while stressing that it remains unclear how the balance of power will settle in practice. The same reporting notes that the IRGC’s top commander was killed in the attacks that killed Khamenei, adding further uncertainty over the Guard’s leadership at the very moment its political weight is being debated.
Across the reports, potential successors are described as spanning a spectrum—from hardliners aligned with security institutions to figures seen as relatively more moderate. The names most consistently discussed include:
Mojtaba Khamenei (Khamenei’s son)
Multiple accounts list Mojtaba Khamenei as a leading contender, describing him as a cleric with significant influence and connections to the IRGC. These reports also note that his candidacy could be politically sensitive because the Islamic Republic has historically criticized hereditary rule.
Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi
Arafi is presented not only as a possible contender but as already central to the transition, with reports stating he has been named to the interim council. Separate reporting describes him as deeply embedded in Iran’s clerical institutions, including membership roles linked to key oversight bodies and leadership of seminary networks.
Hassan Rouhani
One account lists former president Hassan Rouhani as a candidate, portraying him as a relative moderate associated with the 2015 nuclear agreement and noting his political marginalization in recent years.
Hassan Khomeini (grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini)
Several reports say Hassan Khomeini has moved into focus as a possible successor. The accounts describe him as the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic and the custodian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in Tehran and portray him as more reformist or moderate in orientation than hardline contenders. Reporting also notes he attempted to run for the Assembly of Experts in 2016 but was disqualified by the vetting body.
Ayatollah Mohammed Mehdi Mirbagheri
One report identifies Mirbagheri as a senior cleric popular with hardliners and a member of the Assembly of Experts, describing him as closely tied to conservative ideological circles.
Ali Larijani
Some coverage highlights Ali Larijani as a figure expected to have substantial sway during the transition and, in certain accounts, as someone emerging as a possible leader. A separate report frames him as a political veteran with a long record in high-level state roles, describing him as positioned near the center of the power structure during the crisis and portraying him as a prominent voice promising a strong response to attacks.
External claims and contested narratives around “who is left” to choose from
One report highlights a claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that many potential successors were killed in the strikes on Iran, presenting this as his assertion rather than a confirmed fact. The same report stresses the distinction between Trump’s statement and what is described as confirmed information—namely that several senior Iranian officials were killed—without establishing that the entire line of potential successors has been eliminated.
What is known, what is still unclear, and what comes next
Taken together, the reports describe a transition with three moving parts: an interim council already operating, a formal constitutional selection by the Assembly of Experts that is expected to proceed quickly, and a parallel struggle over the degree of influence exerted by security institutions—especially the IRGC—during a period of conflict and leadership disruption.
