Iran: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, becomes Supreme Leader

New Delhi. Following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a new leadership has been announced. His eldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as Iran’s new Supreme Leader. Iranian state media officially confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US and Israeli military strike.

On the morning of March 1, 2026, Iran’s state TV and IRNA news agency reported that 86-year-old Khamenei was killed when his office was targeted in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday, February 28.

The attack was reported to have been a targeted attack on government targets. Iran has declared 40 days of national mourning and seven days of public holidays.

The Process of Electing the Supreme Leader in Iran
Iran’s 88-member Assembly of Experts selects the new Supreme Leader. This council also has the power to remove a Supreme Leader, although this has never happened before. This council is composed entirely of Shia clerics, who are elected through general elections every eight years, and their nominations are approved by the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council often disqualifies candidates. For example, in March 2024, former President Hassan Rouhani was barred from running in the Assembly of Experts elections.

The Provisional Leadership Council Can Temporarily Take Over Responsibility
According to Iranian law, the Assembly of Experts must elect a new Supreme Leader as soon as possible. However, if there is a delay, the Provisional Leadership Council can assume all leadership functions. This council is composed of Iran’s current president, the head of the judiciary, and a member of the Guardian Council, who is selected by the Expediency Council. If this happens now, reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mosseini Ezaei would join the council.