Iran says 'trying' to swiftly appoint new supreme leader

by AFP Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Mar 4, 2026
Iran said on Wednesday it was trying to swiftly appoint a new supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on the weekend.

"We are all trying," said Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts for Leadership which is responsible for selecting a new leader.

"God willing, the leader will be appointed at the earliest opportunity. We are close, but the situation is a war situation," he told state TV.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that any Iranian leader picked to succeed Khamenei "will be a certain target for assassination".

Khatami said "discretion is necessary" given this threat, adding that the election of a new supreme leader was "imminent".

The Assembly of Experts has 88 members who are elected every eight years.

According to Iranian media, US and Israeli strikes targeted a building on Tuesday in the holy city of Qom that belongs to the Assembly.

The previous day, the body's main headquarters in Tehran was targeted by strikes, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Iran officially began transitioning leadership on Sunday, a day after the death of Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Alireza Arafi -- a cleric and member of the Assembly of Experts -- are serving as interim leaders.

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