Iran is working urgently to appoint a new supreme leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli airstrikes over the past weekend.
Khamenei, who had ruled the country since 1989, left a significant power vacuum, and the leadership transition has now become a top priority for the Iranian government.
Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts the body responsible for selecting the supreme leader said on Wednesday that the process is ongoing.
“We are all trying. God willing, the leader will be appointed at the earliest opportunity. We are close, but the situation is a war situation,” he said in an interview on state television.
Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that any Iranian figure chosen to succeed Khamenei could become a target for assassination. Khatami stressed that discretion is necessary because of these threats.
“The election of a new supreme leader is imminent, but careful planning is essential,” he added.
The Assembly of Experts has 88 members who are elected every eight years. Iranian media reported that US and Israeli airstrikes recently hit a building in the holy city of Qom belonging to the Assembly.
The group’s main headquarters in Tehran was also targeted a day earlier, adding to the urgency of the leadership transition.
Iran officially began the leadership handover on Sunday, one day after Khamenei’s death.
Until a new leader is appointed, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and cleric Alireza Arafi are serving as interim leaders.
Experts say the selection of a new supreme leader will have wide-reaching consequences not just for Iran’s domestic politics but also for regional stability, especially as tensions with the United States and Israel continue to escalate.
The world is watching closely as Tehran navigates one of the most critical moments in its recent history.
