How will Iran choose a new supreme leader?

PARIS - Iran said it would swiftly appoint a new supreme leader after US and Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb 28,
insisting the Islamic republic’s system was fully prepared to fill its most powerful post.

Here are key points about the process:

Who decides?

The system in place since the installation of the Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution combines elements of theocracy and democracy, with the supreme leader at the top.

The leader is chosen for life by the popularly elected Assembly of Experts, and in theory, is overseen by the top clerical body, but in practice, has the final word on all policies, domestic and international, as well as being the commander-in-chief.

The Assembly of Experts is made up of 88 jurists elected every eight years.

It has overseen only one leadership transition process to date, when Mr Khamenei was selected in 1989 following the death of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who died after a period of illness.

Swift choice

The authorities have said the decision would be made quickly in line with the Constitution.

“According to the law, a leader must be determined as quickly as possible, and given the wartime conditions, this will happen at the earliest possible opportunity,” a Guardian Council spokesman said on March 1, according to state television.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on March 1 on Al Jazeera: “You may see the selection of a supreme leader in a day or two.”

He said before the strikes that the Islamic republic’s system was built to handle a leadership crisis and was “not dependent on individuals”.

“Whenever needed, they (the Assembly) will elect a new supreme leader for the country, exactly as happened after the demise of the late Ayatollah Khomeini; in less than 24 hours, they elected a new leader,” Mr Araghchi told India Today in an interview earlier in the week.

Transitional leadership

Iranian authorities quickly announced a three-person transitional leadership council to run the country after confirming Mr Khamenei’s death.

It includes jurist Alireza Arafi, a member of the 12-member Guardian Council – half of whom are named by the supreme leader – along with President Masoud Pezeshkian and hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

Mr Pezeshkian said on March 1 that the council had begun its work.

“We will continue with all our strength along the path set by Imam Khomeini,” Mr Pezeshkian said in a recorded video statement broadcast on state TV.

The last nomination

During the 1980s, Mr Khomeini’s most likely successor was seen as senior cleric Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, but the revolution leader shifted his support shortly before his death and the Assembly of Experts chose Mr Khamenei.

Mr Khamenei, who was 86 at the time of his death, famously rejected the nomination initially, but the clerics stood in unison to seal his nomination and his grip on power never slackened. AFP