IRGC Forces Iran's Succession, Installs Mojtaba Khamenei as War-Time Supreme Leader
Within hours of Khamenei's assassination, Iran's IRGC commanders began pressuring the Assembly of Experts — the clerical body empowered to choose a new supreme leader — to elect Mojtaba Khamenei, the deceased leader's son. Unable to meet in person due to ongoing strikes on Tehran, the Assembly convened online under repeated IRGC contact described as "psychological and political pressure." On 9 March Mojtaba — 56, wounded, and never having stood for public office — was announced as Iran's third supreme leader. His first statement, read on state television on 12 March, vowed to continue fighting and demanded reparations from the US and Israel. The episode confirmed that the IRGC had effectively become the sovereign power inside Iran, using a moment of constitutional crisis to cement control over both the state and the theocracy's war posture.
Source Events (2)
- Iran Forms Interim Leadership Council as Government Scrambles After Khamenei's Death Hours after confirming Khamenei's assassination, Iran's constitution triggers the formation of a three-person interim council — comprising President Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf, and the Head of the Judiciary — to govern during the succession crisis. View event details →
- IRGC Pressures Assembly of Experts to Elect Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's New Supreme Leader After an online election process conducted under intense IRGC pressure, Iran's Assembly of Experts elects Mojtaba Khamenei — son of the assassinated supreme leader — as Iran's third supreme leader, consolidating the theocracy's war footing. View event details →