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.

On the morning of March 1, 2026, Iran's government confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed in US-Israeli strikes the night before. Under Iran's constitution, power was transferred immediately to an Interim Leadership Council composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Alireza Arafi of the Guardian Council also participated. The council's first task was to convene the Assembly of Experts — the body constitutionally empowered to select a new supreme leader — to begin the succession process. Iran's state television continued broadcasting normally, and IRGC commanders maintained the ongoing missile and drone campaign launched hours earlier. The interim arrangement underscored just how much supreme leader authority was concentrated in one man, and how unprepared even senior officials were for a sudden transition. Western analysts noted that the IRGC's operational continuity during the leadership vacuum suggested it had effectively become the center of power in Iran.