Iranian state media confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday amid a continued barrage of US-Israeli air strikes.

According to the state-run IRNA news agency, a three-person council consisting of the country’s president, the chief of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council will temporarily assume all leadership duties in the country. Reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are both on this committee. Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts must pick a new Supreme Leader “as soon as possible”.

Who will succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?

There is no clearly named successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — with the official selection set to be made by an 88-member body of clerics called the Assembly of Experts. Several names have emerged as frontrunners but the entire process remains shrouded in secrecy. Under Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, the temporary leadership council will oversee administrative duties until a permanent selection is made.

His second son Mojtaba Khamenei is one of the strongest contenders and wields massive influence over the IRGC and the Iranian intelligence apparatus. But the rule against ‘hereditary’ succession has created concerns about his way forward.

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?

Mojtaba Khamenei is the 56-year-old second son of the late leader and wields significant influence behind the scenes. He is widely regarded as a powerful ‘gatekeeper’ within the office of the Supreme Leader and maintains close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He served in the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq War as a member of the IRGC and later moved to Qom to deepen his religious education.

State-affiliated media had begun referring to him as ‘Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’ a few years ago — a clerical ‘promotion’ that many interpreted as a precursor to leadership roles. The Iranian constitution requires its Supreme Leader to be a “just and pious jurist” who is recognised as an authority in Islamic law. His elevation to Ayatollah reinforced the superior religious scholarship of Mojtaba Khamenei and superceded the ‘hereditary’ clause.