Iran's Supreme Leader Killed in Strike
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike that was reportedly enabled by CIA intelligence that tracked his movements for months. In response, Iran has launched missiles at Israel and Gulf states, while explosions have rocked Tehran for a second straight day.
With the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a temporary three-member council is constitutionally mandated to assume his duties. This council consists of Iran's president, the head of the judiciary, and a cleric from the Guardian Council. The council will govern until a permanent successor is chosen. The responsibility for selecting the new supreme leader falls to the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of senior Islamic clerics. Though its members are elected every eight years, all candidates are first vetted by the hardline Guardian Council, whose members are appointed directly or indirectly by the supreme leader. The Assembly's most recent election was on March 1, 2024. Khamenei's own rise to power in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was controversial. At the time, Khamenei was only a mid-ranking cleric and not a Grand Ayatollah, the highest religious rank. The constitution was amended to allow his appointment, a move that was opposed by several senior religious figures. Before becoming supreme leader, Khamenei served as Iran's president from 1981 to 1989. During his nearly 37-year rule as supreme leader, he consolidated power and developed deep ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), building it into the dominant military and economic force in the country. This escalation follows a long-running proxy conflict between Iran and Israel, which involved Iranian support for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Tensions escalated into direct military confrontations in 2024 and a 12-day war in June 2025, during which Israel and the U.S. targeted Iran's nuclear and military facilities. The Assembly of Experts must now choose a successor "as swiftly as possible," though no specific deadline is mandated. Potential candidates have been discussed in secret, with one of Khamenei's sons, 56-year-old cleric Mojtaba Khamenei, sometimes mentioned, though such a dynastic succession could be controversial.
