Iran sharply condemns US comments on Khamenei's successor

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravan, denounced US interference after Donald Trump stated he should participate in selecting a successor to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the British media.

“The selection of Iran’s leadership will take place strictly in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people, without any foreign interference,” Amir Saeed Iravani told reporters in New York on March 6.

After Khamenei was killed in joint US–Israeli airstrikes, Iran’s constitution stipulates that a temporary leadership council takes over the supreme leader's duties until a new leader is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body elected to oversee and select the next supreme leader.

The Assembly of Experts is an 88‑member council of senior clerics that must convene and choose a replacement; this process is not immediate and has no fixed timeline, especially complicated now by the ongoing conflict.

In the immediate aftermath of Khamenei’s death, Iranian officials described the succession process as postponed or sensitive due to security concerns, particularly around prominent potential figures such as Khamenei’s son, whom US leaders publicly dismissed as unsuitable.

By Jeyhun Aghazada