TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli airstrike has pushed Tehran in a state of real war.
Following official confirmation of his death and the declaration of a 40-day national mourning period, the Iranian government has been forced to split its attention between launching counterattacks and searching for a new leader.
According to Al Jazeera, CNN, and Indian Express, several contenders are being discussed as potential successors, including Hassan Khomenei and Alireza Arafi.
Khamenei’s replacement will be selected by the Assembly of Experts, consisting of an elected body of 88 senior clerics. And that idea of finding a new Supreme Leader is objectively challenging, given that Ali Khamenei ruled the country for 37 years.
Potential Successors to Iran’s Supreme Leader Position
1. Hassan Khomenei, early 50s
Hassan Khomenei emerged as one of the most discussed names to replace Ali Khamenei. A grandson of the Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, his lineage carries significant symbolic and revolutionary weight.
Known for his reformist-leaning image, however, Khomeini is widely seen as having limited institutional power. He has never held a formal government office and is not considered to have strong ties to Iran’s security establishment or core ruling elite.
2. Alireza Arafi, 67
Alireza Arafi is a 67-year-old senior cleric known to be a close associate of Ali Khamenei. He holds key positions within Iran’s religious establishment, serving as Deputy Chair of the Assembly of Experts and having been appointed to the interim Leadership Council tasked with carrying out the Supreme Leader’s duties until a permanent successor is selected.
Despite being regarded as tech-savvy, fluent in Arabic and English, and trusted by Khamenei for his bureaucratic competence, Arafi is not widely seen as a major political heavyweight.
3. Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, early 60s
Of all the contenders, Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri is possibly the most hard-line cleric among them. A member of the Assembly of Experts, Mirbagheri is known for his very strong critical stance toward the West and his belief that conflict between “believers and infidels” is inevitable.
He currently leads the Islamic Sciences Academy in the northern holy city of Qom.
4. Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, late 60s
Hashem Hosseini Bushehri is a senior cleric who is not a very public figure and keeps a relatively low profile domestically.
He is reportedly considered close to Ali Khamenei and has important connections with the institutions that oversee the leadership succession process, especially the Assembly of Experts. However, he is not known to have strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The escalating tensions have sent shockwaves across the globe. For Iran, however, the situation is even more complex as the country grapples with a sudden leadership vacuum.
Among the potential successors discussed, the absence of Ali Khamenei’s second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has drawn particular attention. His omission appears deliberate, as the Supreme Leader himself was reportedly opposed to the idea of father-to-son succession.
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