The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli air assaults has thrust Tehran to a pivotal crossroads because the ruling institution appears to select the late supreme chief’s successor.
A number of senior leaders near Khamenei had been additionally killed within the assault, together with his high safety adviser Ali Shamkhani and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour.
Tehran on Sunday focused extra websites in Gulf international locations in retaliation because it vowed to avenge the killing of Khamenei. In the meantime, United States President Donald Trump has warned in opposition to the retaliatory assaults and prompt that the strikes on Iran would proceed.
The US-Israeli assaults had been launched on Saturday regardless of a number of rounds of diplomatic engagement with Tehran that raised hopes of a deal on its nuclear programme.
The assassination of Khamenei, who took energy in 1989, has left Iran’s high management to organize for the switch of energy at a time when the US, the world’s strongest navy energy, has pledged to dismantle the ruling construction established following Iran’s 1979 revolution.
So, who would be the subsequent supreme chief of Iran? And the way will he be chosen?
How is the supreme chief chosen?
Iran’s supreme chief is chosen by the Meeting of Consultants, an 88-member clerical physique elected by the general public each eight years.
Candidates who run for the Meeting should first be vetted and authorized by the Guardian Council, a strong oversight physique whose members are partly appointed by the supreme chief himself.
When the place turns into vacant, resulting from dying or resignation, the Meeting of Consultants convenes to decide on a successor. A easy majority is adequate to nominate the brand new supreme chief.
As per Iran’s structure, the candidate have to be a senior jurist with deep information of jurisprudence in Shia Islam, in addition to qualities similar to political judgement, braveness, and administrative functionality.
Earlier, there had been just one different switch of energy within the workplace of the supreme chief of Iran, when Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the chief of the Islamic Revolution, died at age 86 in 1989.
What occurs in Iran throughout a management vacuum?
Article 111 of Iran’s structure mandates {that a} non permanent council deal with duties till a brand new supreme chief is elected.
That council will embrace President Masoud Pezeshkian, Supreme Court docket Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and a cleric from the Guardian Council, in line with Iranian media. Ayatollah Alireza Arafi from the Guardian Council, 67, was on Sunday appointed to the three-member non permanent council.
They may lead the nation till the meeting formally picks the brand new supreme chief.
Iran’s safety chief and a detailed confidante of the late Khamenei, Ali Larijani, stated on Sunday that the transition course of is below approach.
Luciano Zaccara, a analysis affiliate professor in Gulf politics at Qatar College, instructed Al Jazeera that Iran’s political system has been ready for the present state of affairs, understanding that Khamenei’s assassination was an actual risk.
“Trump desires to get the most effective deal attainable, however the technique he’s utilizing to get that deal is to annihilate or destroy as a lot as he can,” Zaccara stated. “That is the best way to impose circumstances, to not negotiate something. Trump desires a give up of the regime, not a change.”
To keep away from a vacuum of energy, the late Khamenei stored replacements for all of the officers eradicated in the previous few months prepared, and made certain to place in a construction, Zaccara instructed Al Jazeera.
“The buildings stay, the road of energy [and] the road of command stay in place,” he stated.
Who’s the supreme chief of Iran?
The supreme chief is the highest place within the Islamic Republic’s political and spiritual hierarchy below the velayat-e faqih system – the precept of the guardianship of the Islamic jurist.
He’s basically the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the ultimate phrase within the nation – and appoints key judicial, navy, and media officers. He additionally leads the mighty IRGC.
Listed here are the contenders for the highest job in Tehran
Mojtaba Khamenei
Khamenei’s second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among the many high contenders to succeed his father as the following supreme chief.
He’s recognized to wield vital affect among the many directors and the IRGC, essentially the most highly effective navy physique.
Nevertheless, Khamenei’s lineage can be among the many greatest obstacles he faces. He was reportedly against the father-to-son succession. It’s frowned upon in Iran, notably after the US-backed monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was toppled in 1979.
Alireza Arafi
Arafi, a 67-year-old cleric, is an influential determine within the Islamic Republic’s non secular institution, however not a broadly accepted political actor.
He serves because the deputy chairman of the Meeting of Consultants, the physique chargeable for overseeing the number of the supreme chief, and has been a member of the Guardian Council, which vets election candidates and legal guidelines handed by parliament.
Arafi was appointed as the jurist member of Iran’s Management Council, the physique tasked with fulfilling the supreme chief’s position till the Meeting of Consultants elects a brand new chief, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday.
He’s additionally the Friday prayer chief of Qom – Iran’s most essential non secular centre – and heads the nation’s seminary system, overseeing clerical training nationwide.
Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri
Mirbagheri is an ultra-hardline clerical voice within the institution and a member of the Meeting of Consultants.
He’s broadly recognized for his world view important of the West – and at the moment heads the Islamic Sciences Academy within the northern metropolis of Qom.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei
Mohseni-Ejei is a senior Iranian cleric and at the moment heads the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, appointed to the position in July 2021 by the late Khamenei.
He beforehand served as minister of intelligence from 2005 to 2009 and later as prosecutor-general and first deputy chief justice. He’s thought to be a hardline determine aligned with the conservative wing of the regime.
Hassan Khomeini
Khomeini, 54, is among the many most mentioned names in succession talks for the following supreme chief.
He’s the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding father of the Islamic Republic, and likewise the custodian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in Tehran.
Whereas he has not held a public workplace, Khomeini is a reformist determine recognized for his quite reasonable views on public life and coverage. He tried to run for the Meeting of Consultants in 2016, however the vetting council disqualified him.
