Killing of Iran’s supreme leader triggers succession crisis as U.S.-Israeli airstrikes continue

The killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, by U.S. and Israeli forces Saturday has triggered a succession crisis with implications for the Islamic republic’s future and regional stability.

Tehran has announced the formation of an interim leadership council that will oversee the country’s defense until a new supreme leader is selected. The three-member council consists of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a member of the Guardian Council, and Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, the leader of the Iranian judiciary.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief and a key Khamenei adviser, is expected to play a role in the council.

Under the Iranian Constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts is tasked with selecting the next supreme leader. The timeline for the selection is vague; the Iranian Constitution requires only that the assembly choose a supreme leader as “soon as possible.”

Ayatollah Khamenei’s death puts Iran in a unique position in its history. He was only the second person to hold the title of supreme leader after the 1989 death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Ayatollah Khamenei rose to power during a period of relative peace in Iran. Now, Iran is facing intense military pressure from the U.S. and Israel that seeks to depose the Islamic republic.

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Israeli and U.S. strikes since Saturday have eliminated key members of Iran’s military leadership, including the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour.

The succession process could be disrupted by ongoing U.S. and Israeli military action. Israel continued Sunday to strike at Tehran’s security apparatus, targeting IRGC and national police buildings.

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Additionally, Iranians who rose up against the regime by the thousands last month could take to the streets again to disrupt its attempts to retain control.

Iranian authorities reportedly killed thousands of protesters in early January, when the uprising was at its most intense.

In his address Saturday announcing U.S. action against Iran, President Trump called on Iranians to “take over your government.” He previously urged the regime not to target protesters with violence and told demonstrators that “help is on the way.”

Ayatollah Khamenei dominated Iranian politics during his 37-year term as supreme leader, firmly establishing the Islamic republic as a regional player and expanding Tehran’s reach beyond its borders.

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He rose to prominence in Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, leading protests against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After the shah fled, Ayatollah Khamenei became president under Ayatollah Khomeini and remained a staunch loyalist.

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After taking on the role of supreme leader in 1989, he helped define and establish the “Axis of Resistance,” a loose coalition of nations united in opposition to Western authority.

That axis included proxy groups that helped push Tehran’s goals in neighboring countries, notably in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Israel.

He also helped steward Iran’s fledgling nuclear program, which became a frequent target for the U.S. and Israel, which long asserted that the Islamic republic was on the road to developing nuclear weapons.

In the final years of his rule, Iran’s position in the region tumbled. In addition to a crippling economic downturn at the end of 2025, Iran had lost much of its regional power after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Israel’s near destruction of Hamas and Hezbollah, and its devastating 12-day war with Israel in June.

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• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.