Iran: Iran has concluded its leadership elections and appointed a new leader, the representative of the Iranian Revolution Leader in the Khorasan province, Sayyed Ahmad Alamolhoda, announced Sunday. The representative dismissed all rumors suggesting that the Assembly of Experts has not yet made a decision, describing such claims as "mere fabrications". He emphasized that, under the constitution, no one, including members of the Assembly of Experts, has the authority to change their mind and alter their decision. "Everything now depends on the head of the Assembly of Experts' Secretariat, Ayatollah Bushehri, who is currently responsible for announcing the decision," he said.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, on March 7, Assembly of Experts member Sheikh Hossein Mozaffari stated that the meeting to select the new leader would be held within 24 hours. The announcement comes after the assassination of the leader of Iran and the Islamic Revolution, Sayyed Ali Khamenei. Sayyed Khamenei was martyred in the joint US-Israeli aggression on Iran on February 28. Iranian state television reported that the leader of Iran, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, was martyred at his workplace while he was carrying out his duties in his office following the joint US-Israeli attacks in the early hours of Saturday.
According to Iranian state television, Sayyed Khamenei's martyrdom at his workplace once again refuted claims by "outlets linked to the Israeli regime and regional reactionary currents that the leader was in a secure and undisclosed location," affirming that he remained present on the frontlines of responsibility among his people.
The Assembly of Experts is composed of 88 Islamic jurists elected by direct popular vote to eight-year terms. When the position of Leader falls vacant, the Assembly convenes in a closed session to select a successor from a shortlist of senior clerics who meet the constitutional criteria of Islamic scholarship, justice, piety, and political-social acumen. Under the body's internal rules, a candidate must secure at least two-thirds of the members' votes to be appointed as Iran's Leader. The martyred Leader did not designate a successor, instead leaving the decision to the Assembly of Experts.
Following Sayyed Khamenei's martyrdom, an interim leadership council was formed in accordance with Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution to assume the responsibilities of the Leader pending the selection of a successor. The council is composed of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and Sheikh Alireza Arafi, a jurist from the Guardian Council elected by the Expediency Discernment Council.
The position of Leader, also referred to as the Jurist Guardian (Vali-e Faqih), represents the highest authority in Iran's political and religious system. Rooted in the doctrine of Jurist Guardianship, the role grants its holder supreme authority over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and shapes domestic policy, national institutions, and Iran's broader strategic orientation. Sayyed Ali Khamenei assumed the position in June 1989 following the death of the Islamic Republic's founder, Sayyed Ruhollah Khomeini, and held it for approximately 36 years until his assassination.