Process to elect new Supreme Leader begins in Iran, says FM

Iran has initiated the process to select a new Supreme Leader, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated in an interview with ABC News.

Araghchi stated that their constitution establishes a procedure in which, upon the loss of the Supreme Leader, a new one is elected by the Assembly of Experts, and that this process has now begun.

Iranian state media have officially confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died, following reported joint US–Israeli airstrikes on Iran. 

A national 40‑day mourning period has been declared, marking the end of Khamenei’s nearly 37‑year rule as the country’s top political and religious authority. 

After Khamenei’s death, Iran’s constitution calls for an interim leadership council — made up of the president, the head of the judiciary and a cleric selected by the Guardian Council — to temporarily assume the duties of the Supreme Leader until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor. 

Under Iranian law, the next Supreme Leader must be chosen by the Assembly of Experts, an 88‑member clerical body elected by the public and tasked uniquely with appointing and overseeing the nation’s highest authority.

By Jeyhun Aghazada