Ayatollah Khamenei is dead: Who could lead Iran next?

‘There are some good candidates’, says Trump

Trump on Saturday said there are “some good candidates” to lead Iran after he announced the killing of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. CNN reported that when Trump was asked by a CBS reporter who he thought was in charge, he said, “I know exactly who, but I can’t tell you.”

When asked if there is someone in Iran he would prefer to see assume leadership, the president said, “Yes, I think so. There are some good candidates.” He did not comment further on whom he was referencing.

According to the New York Times, the supreme leader must be a senior Shia cleric and scholar appointed by a committee of clerics known as the Assembly of Experts.

The three candidates preferred by Khamenei, based on interviews with six senior Iranian officials were: the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i; Ayatollah Khamenei’s chief of staff, Ali Asghar Hejazi; and Hassan Khomeini, a moderate cleric from the reformist political faction and a grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini.

Chances are lean for Khamenei’s second son Mojtaba, 56, as the Supreme Leader himself had told his followers that he did not want the post to be hereditary.

Father-to-son succession is also frowned upon in the Shiite Muslim clerical establishment, reports CNN. An additional hurdle is that Mojtaba is not a high-ranking cleric and has no official role in the regime.

A CNN report quoting experts and analysts names five candidates, including Khamenei’s son, as potential contenders for the position.

The next leader will be selected by an elected body of 88 senior clerics, known as the Assembly of Experts.

Here are the names of the probable successors:

📌 Alireza Arafi, 67: A seasoned cleric and close associate of Khamenei, Arafi currently serves as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts and has also been a member of the influential Guardian Council, the body responsible for vetting election candidates and reviewing legislation passed by parliament. He heads Iran’s seminary system as well. Although well established religiously, he is not widely regarded as a major political force and is not known for strong ties to the security establishment.

📌 Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, early 60s: A hardline cleric and member of the Assembly of Experts, Mirbagheri represents the most conservative faction within the clerical establishment. According to IranWire, he strongly opposes the West and holds the view that conflict between believers and non-believers is unavoidable. He currently leads the Islamic Sciences Academy in the holy city of Qom in northern Iran.

📌 Hassan Khomeini, early 50s: The grandson of Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, he carries both religious stature and revolutionary credentials. He serves as custodian of the Khomeini mausoleum but has never held public office and appears to wield limited influence within the security apparatus or ruling elite. Compared to many peers, he is considered less hardline. He has also been named by the supreme leader among potential successors.

📌 Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, late 60s: A senior cleric with close connections to key institutions involved in the succession process, particularly the Assembly of Experts, where he serves as first deputy chairman. Reportedly close to Khamenei, Bushehri maintains a relatively low domestic profile and is not known to have strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).