Iran's Supreme Leader Succession: Assembly of Experts Selects Mojtaba Khamenei
Following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026 during Israeli-US airstrikes on Iran, Iran's 88-member Assembly of Experts convened to select a new Supreme Leader.
Iran's government stated it was "trying" to swiftly appoint a new leader to ensure political stability, even as Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that any successor "will be a certain target for assassination."
The Assembly of Experts, under significant pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), selected Mojtaba Khamenei — the 56-year-old son of the slain leader — as Iran's new Supreme Leader.
This marks the third time in Iran's post-revolutionary history that the Supreme Leader position has changed hands, following Khomeini (died 1989) and Ali Khamenei (assassinated 2026).
Velayat-e-Faqih: Iran's Theocratic Governance System
Velayat-e-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) is the foundational political-theological doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran, articulated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in his 1970 book "Islamic Government." The doctrine holds that a learned senior Islamic jurist (faqih) must exercise supreme political authority over the Islamic state until the return of the hidden Twelfth Imam in Shia theology. The concept was formally codified into Iran's 1979 Constitution (revised in 1989) and vests the Supreme Leader with absolute authority over all branches of government, the military (including the IRGC), the judiciary, and state media.
Mojtaba Khamenei's selection, reportedly under IRGC pressure rather than purely clerical consensus, raises questions about whether the Velayat-e-Faqih doctrine is evolving from theocratic legitimacy towards military-backed authority — a shift with major implications for Iran's governance structure.
Assembly of Experts: Constitutional Role in Succession
The Assembly of Experts (Majlis-e Khobregan) is an 88-member directly elected body of Islamic clerics that meets twice yearly but exercises its most critical function when selecting, supervising, and if necessary dismissing the Supreme Leader. Members are elected by popular vote for 8-year terms but must be pre-approved by the Guardian Council, which itself is partly appointed by the Supreme Leader — creating a closed political loop.
The reported IRGC pressure on clerics to back Mojtaba Khamenei — rather than one of the three nominees — signals that Iran's institutional succession mechanism is being overridden by military power, potentially altering the character of the Islamic Republic.
Iran's IRGC: Political and Military Role
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was established in 1979 to protect the Islamic Revolution and is constitutionally distinct from Iran's regular military. Over four decades, the IRGC has expanded far beyond its original mandate into an economic conglomerate, political force, and parallel military command structure. The IRGC controls ballistic missile programmes, overseas proxy networks (via the Quds Force), and significant portions of Iran's economy. The United States designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2019.
The IRGC's reported role in pressuring the Assembly of Experts to select Mojtaba Khamenei illustrates the Corps' growing institutional power — making it the de facto kingmaker in post-Khamenei Iran, with implications for Iran's nuclear programme and regional proxy strategy.
- Iran has had only two Supreme Leaders in its 47-year post-revolutionary history: Ruhollah Khomeini (1979–1989) and Ali Khamenei (1989–2026)
- The Assembly of Experts has 88 members elected every 8 years; all candidates must be pre-screened by the Guardian Council
- Iran's Constitution was revised in 1989 to remove the Marja' requirement for the Supreme Leader — a change that allowed the then-relatively junior Ali Khamenei to assume the role
- Article 107 of Iran's Constitution governs the election of the Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts
- Article 109 sets qualifications: jurisprudential scholarship, justice and piety, political perspicacity, courage, administrative capability
- The IRGC is designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States (since 2019)
- Ali Khamenei was Supreme Leader for 37 years (1989–2026), making him the longest-serving head of the Islamic Republic
- Israel launched airstrikes on Iran beginning February 28, 2026, which also killed Khamenei