Arabic version: مجلس خبراء إيران يتوصل إلى توافق بشأن خليفة خامنئي

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly achieved a majority consensus on the selection of the next supreme leader following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ayatollah Mohammad-Mahdi Mirbagheri, a member of the assembly, stated that some obstacles remain to be resolved in the process. According to Al Jazeera, the assembly is tasked with appointing the country’s supreme leader under the Iranian constitution.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 37 years, was killed in a United States-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, at the outset of the war which has now embroiled much of the Middle East. The Israeli military has issued a warning to all members of the Assembly of Experts, stating that it will target anyone involved in the selection of Khamenei’s successor.

Mirbagheri emphasized that significant efforts have been made to determine the leadership, achieving a “decisive and unanimous opinion.” Another assembly member, Hojjatoleslam Jafari, expressed hope that the Iranian populace would soon be satisfied with the decision, acknowledging the bitter delay in electing the new leader.

Minor disagreements were reported among the assembly members regarding whether a final decision should be made in person or could occur without such a meeting. Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir mentioned that an in-person vote was not feasible under the current circumstances, adding that a candidate had been selected based on Khamenei’s guidance that the next leader should be “hated by the enemy.”