How succession works in Iran and who will be the country's next supreme leader?
ABC News
In Iran the supreme leader is the heart of a complex power-sharing theocracy and has final say over all matters of state
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raises paramount questions about the country's future. And while a clerical panel is tasked with replacing him, succession is a complex matter in Iran's theocracy:
Here is what to know:
An 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts appoints the supreme leader. The panel can remove one as well, although that has never happened.
The panel consists entirely of Shiite clerics who are popularly elected every eight years and whose candidacies are approved by the Guardian Council, Iran's constitutional watchdog. That body is known for disqualifying candidates in various elections in Iran and the Assembly of Experts is no different. The Guardian Council barred former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose administration struck the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, from election for the Assembly of Experts in March 2024.
Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible” pick a new supreme leader. But until then, a leadership council can step in and “temporarily assume all the duties of leadership.”
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