Overview
- Multiple international and Israeli outlets report Mojtaba Khamenei has been chosen or is poised to be announced as supreme leader, but there is no verification from Iranian state media.
- Iran’s Consulate in Mumbai issued an official denial, saying reports that the Assembly of Experts selected a successor “have no official source.”
- A three‑member interim council—Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholam‑Hossein Mohseni‑Ejei—continues to perform the leader’s duties under the constitution.
- The Assembly held sessions online after an Israeli strike hit an empty building in Qom linked to its planned meeting, and several reports say the IRGC pushed for Mojtaba’s elevation.
- Farewell ceremonies for Ali Khamenei began in Tehran as Israel’s defense minister warned any successor would be a “target for elimination,” and Mojtaba’s prior U.S. sanctions and IRGC ties featured in profiles of the contender.