| Election Name: | Next Iranian Supreme Leader election |
| Country: | Iran |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election |
| Previous Year: | 1989 |
| Votes For Election: | 88 Members in the Assembly of Experts |
| Needed Votes: | 59 |
An election for the third Supreme Leader of Iran is scheduled to be held following the end of the current tenure of Ali Khamenei. As of January 2024, no person has been officially declared as the heir to the current leader nor as a nominee, though various sources such as Reuters and the BBC have written on potential candidates.
The succession of Khamenei is deemed to have been decided but not disclosed publicly. Constitutionally, the Assembly of Experts is tasked to select the next leader. Its sixth and current term was elected in 2024 and is scheduled to sit until 2032.
Khamenei has not discussed his replacement. He has said the selection must be made without shame or regard for expediency, rather based on the three principles of "truth, the need of the country and God".[1] [2] A four man council of Assembly of Experts is examining possible candidates while keeping it fully secret and advising the current supreme leader as of 2024.[3] [4] A member of the experts assembly in 2024 claimed that his successor has been chosen but the identity of this individual is hidden for his safety.[5]
As of 2024, then-President Ebrahim Raisi and Khamenei's son Mojtaba had been considered frontrunners for the position. Raisi's death in a helicopter crash in May 2024 cut short his potential candidacy.[6] [7]
The Supreme Leader of Iran is selected by members of the Assembly of Experts to serve a life tenure. According to Article 111 of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, if the incumbent Supreme Leader dies in office or is dismissed, the Assembly of Experts should immediately hold a session and appoint a successor. A 'Provisional Leadership Council' is mandated to carry out the responsibilities of the supreme leader until a permanent successor is selected, which is made up of the incumbent President, the incumbent Chief Justice and one of clerics of the Guardian Council who is selected by the Expediency Discernment Council.
In December 2015, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said a committee in the Assembly of Experts "is examining potential candidates to be the next Supreme Leader". He also said the Assembly would be open to choosing "a council of leaders if needed" instead of a single leader.
Ahmad Khatami told press in 2016 that a committee made up of three Assembly members had given three names to the supreme leader "to seek his verdict", but later remarked what he said was "hypothetical" and blamed media for misreporting his words. Mohsen Araki, commented in June 2019 that the committee has drafted a "top secret list of prospective supreme leaders" and will present three names to the Assembly "when it is necessary." Hashem Hashemzadeh Herisi confirmed that such a committee exists, adding that the names on the list will not be disclosed. He also stated that the decisions made by the committee will not be fateful because the next leader must be voted by a majority of all members in the assembly. Prior to that, in February 2019 Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari had categorically dismissed allegations that Ebrahim Raisi and Ahmad Khatami were considered as candidates for the next leader by the assembly, stating that the question "has never been debated at the assembly".
As of 2023, the Assembly of Experts is discussing a potential program to reestablish the post of Vice Supreme Leader, which was last held by Hussein-Ali Montazeri from 1985 to 1989.[8]
In 2023, Israeli military intelligence had assessed President Ebrahim Raisi would succeed Khamenei.[9] John Bolton argued the regime would be vulnerable in the event of Khamenei's death.[10] In the aftermath of Raisi's death, Mojtaba Khamenei has become a more plausible candidate to replace his father, although Ali Khamenei had reportedly opposed this.[11] [12] [13] [14] In the 6th mandate of Assembly of Experts, 93 year old Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani became the new chief of Assembly of Experts.[15] [16]
The persons listed in this section are, according to analyses and comments made by various sources, potential candidates (the names are sorted by age):
| Name | Hassan Rouhani | Mohsen Araki | Alireza Arafi | Sadeq Amoli Larijani | Mohammad-Mahdi Mirbagheri | Mojtaba Khamenei | Hassan Khomeini | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture | ||||||||
| Age | years | years | years | |||||
| Sources |
People mentioned below had been regarded as potential candidates during their lifetime.
| Name | Abbas Vaez-Tabasi | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi | Ebrahim Amini | Mohammad Yazdi | Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi | Ebrahim Raisi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture | ||||||||
| Year of death | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2020 | 2020 | 2021 | 2024 | |
| Sources |