According to Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammad-Mahdi Mirbagheri, the clerical body has reached a majority consensus on the new Supreme Leader of Iran. However, there are still “some obstacles,” reports the Mehr news agency.
Under Iran’s constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts chooses the supreme leader.
Obstacles to the New Supreme Leader
Khamenei, who ruled over the Middle Eastern country for 37 years, was killed on Feb. 28, 2026, during a US-Israeli joint strike on Tehran.
The Israeli military has threatened to pursue every member of the Assembly of Experts who seeks to appoint a successor.
“We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either. This is a warning!” the Israeli military stated in a Sunday post on X.
In a video posted by Fars News Agency on Telegram, Mirbagheri states that “great efforts to determine the leadership” have been made and that “a decisive and unanimous opinion” has been reached.
In another Fars video, another member of the Assembly of Experts, Hojjatoleslam Jafari, says he hopes “all Iranian people will be satisfied as soon as possible. The delay in electing the third leader is bitter and unwanted for everyone, and there is no alternative, so we should not have bad thoughts about our representatives at this difficult time.”
Iranian media reports that the group of scholars disagreed over whether their final decision must follow an in-person meeting or be issued without following this formality.
Nournews released a video on Sunday, March 8, of Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir announcing that due to the current conditions, the Assembly of Experts will not be voting on a new supreme leader in person.
He states the assembly has chosen a candidate based on the advice of Khamenei, who said the supreme leader should “be hated by the enemy,” not praised by it.
“Even the Great Satan [the US] has mentioned his name,” says Heidari Alekasir of the chosen successor, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the Supreme Leader’s son, was an “unacceptable” choice.
Ceasefire Rejected
As the Iranian conflict continues, President Masoud Pezeshkian states the country is “forced to respond” when attacked, even if the strikes are from neighboring countries.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected calls for a ceasefire. During an interview on “Meet the Press,” he stated Iran needs “to continue fighting for the sake of our people.”
In Tehran, several oil depots have been targeted by overnight airstrikes, according to Fars news, which produced a video of fires and an orange sky over the city.
Israel launched a new wave of attacks in Tehran overnight, following strikes on the capital’s energy resources, while Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the Persian Gulf targeted key infrastructure.
The US military continues to urge the people of Iran to stay home, claiming Tehran is launching drones and ballistic missiles from populated areas.
Gas and diesel prices continue to soar, threatening to impact the global economy due to the central role of fuel in delivering food and goods to consumers.
Sources:
NBC News: Live updates: Tehran fuel depots burn as Iran selects new supreme leader
CNN: Live updates: Iran war news; Tehran nears decision on new supreme leader
Al Jazeera: Iran’s Assembly of Experts says consensus reached on Khamenei’s successor
Featured Image Courtesy of safway sayed’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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