Killing of Iran’s supreme leader triggers succession crisis, as U.S.-Israeli airstrikes continue

The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by U.S. and Israeli forces on Saturday has triggered a succession crisis in the Islamic republic that has implications for Iran’s future and regional stability.

Tehran has announced the formation of an interim leadership council that will oversee the country’s defense until a new supreme leader is selected. The three-member council consists of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Guardian Council member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, leader of the Iranian judiciary.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief and a key Khamenei adviser, is expected to play a role in the council.

Under the Iranian constitution, the 88-member body known as the Assembly of Experts is tasked with choosing the next supreme leader. The timeline for the selection is vague; the Iranian constitution only requires the assembly to choose a supreme leader as “soon as possible.”

Ayatollah Khamenei’s death puts Iran in a unique position in its history. He was only the second person to hold the title of supreme leader in the Islamic republic’s history after the 1989 death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Ayatollah Khamenei rose to his position in a time of relative peace for Iran. Now, Iran is facing intense military pressure from both the U.S. and Israel that seeks to depose the Islamic republic.

Israeli and U.S. strikes over the past two days have eliminated key members of Iran’s military leadership, including the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour.

The succession process could be disrupted by ongoing U.S. and Israeli military action. Israel continued Sunday to strike at Tehran’s security apparatus, targeting IRGC and national police buildings.

Additionally, Iranians who rose up in protest against the regime by the thousands last month could take to the streets again to disrupt the regime’s attempts to retain control.

Iranian authorities reportedly killed thousands of protesters in early January, when the anti-government protests were at their most intense.