Who Will Lead Iran After Khamenei's Death? Meet the 5 Candidates Fighting for Supreme Power

The 88 clerics who must choose Iran's next supreme leader are scattered across the country, unable to meet. Bombs keep falling.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on 28 February 2026 in a joint US-Israeli strike on his Tehran compound. Iranian state media confirmed his death the following day, declaring 40 days of national mourning. It marked the first assassination of a supreme leader in the Islamic Republic's 47-year history.

When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died in 1989, naming his successor took less than 24 hours. This time, no one knows when the process can even begin.

A Body That Cannot Gather

Under Iran's constitution, the Assembly of Experts must convene to select a new supreme leader. The 88-member body of senior clerics is elected every eight years and vetted by the Guardian Council. But convening requires the clerics to physically assemble. That's not possible right now.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, told CNN the Assembly may not meet until US and Israeli operations wind down. President Donald Trump has said strikes will continue 'throughout the week or as long as necessary.'

So, Iran now has a Provisional Leadership Council instead. Three men. Three very different politics.

President Masoud Pezeshkian leans reformist. Judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei is a hardliner. Alireza Arafi, a 67-year-old cleric from the Guardian Council, fills the constitutional requirement for clerical representation. This odd pairing of rivals must hold together a country under bombardment.

The Kingmakers Are Dead

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has long been the hidden hand in Iranian politics. Any supreme leader needs IRGC's backing to govern. That's how Khamenei held power for 36 years.

But the same strikes that killed Khamenei also killed IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour. Top defence official Ali Shamkhani died too. Israel claims a 'majority' of Iran's senior military leaders were eliminated on 28 February, according to Al Jazeera.

The regime is 'moving quickly behind the scenes to prevent fragmentation,' Vakil said. Whether it succeeds is another question entirely.

Five Names, Five Problems

Mojtaba Khamenei

Mojtaba Khamenei is the late leader's son. He has strong IRGC connections and real influence behind the scenes. The problem? Iran overthrew a monarchy in 1979. Father-to-son succession doesn't sit well with a revolution built on rejecting kings.

Hassan Khomeini

Hassan Khomeini carries a different kind of weight. He's the grandson of the Islamic Republic's founder. Symbolic power, yes. But actual power? He was barred from running for the Assembly of Experts in 2016 and has been sidelined from the regime's inner circle ever since.

Alireza Arafi

Alireza Arafi already sits on the provisional council. He's the deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts and a Guardian Council member. That means he could, in theory, vet his own candidacy. A fox guarding the henhouse.

Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri

Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri represents the conservative clerical wing. His obstacle? Low public profile and no known IRGC backing.

Sadiq Larijani

Sadiq Larijani has strong institutional credentials as a former judiciary chief. But his brother Ali was disqualified from the 2021 presidential race by the Guardian Council. Family baggage.

92 Million People in Digital Darkness

While elites manoeuvre, ordinary Iranians can barely get online. NetBlocks reported internet connectivity dropped to 4% of normal levels after the strikes began. The regime has deployed military-grade jammers to block Starlink satellite signals, the same technology Russia uses in Ukraine.

Security forces are raiding homes to confiscate satellite dishes, computers, and phones. The goal is simple: cut Iranians off from the outside world.

It's not working entirely. Younger Iranians are using mesh networks and whatever satellite connections survive to share information. Civil society groups are now pushing for 'direct-to-cell' satellite technology that connects straight to smartphones, bypassing government infrastructure altogether.

What This Means for You

Iran's next supreme leader will decide whether the current conflict escalates or de-escalates. The choice affects oil prices, regional stability, and the risk of wider war.

According to CNN, Vakil put it bluntly: moments of succession tend to strengthen conservative factions, at least initially. 'If reform politicians have ambitions,' she said, 'this is their now-or-never moment.'

The 88 clerics remain scattered. The bombs keep falling. And for millions of Iranians watching through cracks in a digital blackout, the question isn't just who leads next. It's whether this moment of chaos might finally break a system that has resisted change for 47 years.