Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly identified three high-ranking clerics as his potential successors, following escalating fears for his life amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran.
According to The New York Times, the decision was made while the 86-year-old spiritual and political leader was sheltering in a fortified underground bunker. The report cites senior Iranian officials who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the information.
The succession move is seen as a direct response to mounting instability in Iran, triggered by a series of deadly Israeli airstrikes and assassinations targeting key figures within the Iranian military, including top commanders and nuclear scientists.
A striking revelation from the report is the exclusion of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, from the list of successors. This development runs contrary to long-standing rumors that Mojtaba, who has significant religious and political influence, was being groomed to take over as Supreme Leader.
“Khamenei has nominated three clerics as potential successors while hiding in a bunker… Mojtaba is not among them,” the Times quoted sources as saying, suggesting a deliberate rejection of any notion of hereditary succession.
The Jerusalem Post corroborated the story, adding that Khamenei is not only preparing for his own replacement but is also overseeing a broader reshuffle in the Iranian military command, following a wave of leadership losses to Israeli strikes.
Under the Iranian constitution, the power to choose the Supreme Leader officially rests with the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body. However, Khamenei’s personal selection process suggests he is attempting to influence the succession path more directly — possibly to preserve ideological unity and prevent internal divisions.
Observers note that naming three successors instead of one indicates both uncertainty within the ruling elite and the urgency of the current crisis. A regional intelligence source told The New York Times:[/p>
“Khamenei’s action signals a regime that sees the risk of decapitation as real. It is succession planning not in theory — but under fire.”
The urgency is underscored by a string of high-profile assassinations, including the reported deaths of Major General Hossein Salami and General Gholam Ali Rashid, both senior figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
On June 17, Reuters reported that Gen. Salami was killed in an Israeli airstrike, just days after Israeli forces bombed critical Iranian military and nuclear sites. Meanwhile, multiple senior nuclear scientists were said to have been killed in an earlier strike on June 13.
Adding to the tension, Iranian state media confirmed the arrest of at least 22 individuals suspected to be Israeli operatives involved in the coordinated attacks on high-value IRGC targets.
The decision to leave Mojtaba out of the succession line is being seen as a symbolic and strategic shift. While he has long held sway in religious and political circles, critics have warned that appointing him could spark unrest due to the appearance of monarchy-like succession within an Islamic republic.
As the Times of India remarked: “Mojtaba’s exclusion is a message: no dynasty here.”
The overall message from Khamenei’s reported actions is clear — the Iranian regime is now actively preparing for leadership transition under unprecedented pressure from foreign military threats, domestic instability, and the looming specter of regime fragmentation.[/p>