What Will Happen When Khamenei Dies?
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,885, January 14, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is 81 years old and reportedly in declining health. The question of the succession will be decided by the regime’s Assembly of Experts, who will choose the new Supreme Leader following Khamenei’s death. Six individuals have emerged as possible successors.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, took office in 1989. He is now 81, and rumors about his declining health have persisted for a decade. Just recently,
Newsweek magazine
reported that Khamenei´s health had deteriorated though that report was based on groundless reports from a journalist connected to the Iranian separatist and terrorist organization Arab Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is 81 years old and reportedly in declining health. The question of the succession will be decided by the regime’s Assembly of Experts, who will choose the new Supreme Leader following Khamenei’s death. Six individuals have emerged as possible successors.
the SL, the GC, the DC, and the Assembly
While the Assembly is the most important organ with regard to the appointment of a new SL, the power and influence of the GC and the DC are also considerable.
The bodies surrounding Khamenei will also influence the selection. Those bodies include the Office of the Supreme Leader, which employs thousands and has its own intelligence, counterintelligence, and protection organizations. The power of the Office cannot be ignored.
The Office has a complex bureaucracy, with hundreds of commissions, organizations, and advisors. Many of its key figures have been
sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury. In 2019, the Treasury sanctioned Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, who plays an essential role at the Office. Others sanctioned included Gholamhossein Mohammadi Golpayegani, the head of the Office; Vahid Haghanian, executive deputy of the Office; Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei’s advisor on foreign policy; and Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, also an adviso