As tensions in the Middle East continue to heighten, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has handpicked three pliable cronies to succeed him in the event of his assassination. As more valued lieutenants were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on Saturday, the Iranian leader made the "unusual decision" to call on the regime’s Assembly of Experts to choose his successor out of three options he provided.
According to the New York Times, Ayatollah Khamenei is currently taking shelter in a bunker, convinced that either Israel or the United States may attempt to assassinate him. Iranian officials claim Khamenei believes both nations are determined to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program and wouldn’t hesitate to target him if necessary—something he reportedly views as a path to martyrdom. Although his 55-year-old son, Mojtaba, a cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was once considered a leading contender to succeed him, he has been left off the current shortlist of successors.
“If you need any more evidence that the ayatollah is shaking in his boots, look no further than him identifying his three stooges,” a source close to the White House told The New York Post.
The exact names on Ayatollah Khamenei’s succession list remain unknown, but reports suggest his recent actions mark a break from Iran’s traditional method of selecting a supreme leader. Typically, high-ranking clerics choose a successor from a carefully vetted pool of candidates—a deliberate and strategic process that often takes months to complete.
Alongside Khamenei’s retreat from public view, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has reportedly instructed all top government officials and military leaders to stay underground as tensions escalate and the conflict intensifies.
This follows Israel's targeted strike on Saturday that killed a senior Quds Force commander from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi, a central figure in Iran’s strategy to destroy Israel. The strike took place near Qom and removed one of the top coordinators linking the Iranian regime to Hamas. Izadi was also one of the masterminds behind the brutal October 7 attacks.
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