Iran Set to Announce New Supreme Leader to Replace Khamenei

Iran is set to announce its new Supreme Leader, after US-Israel air strikes destroyed oil depots and sparked fires that engulfed much of Tehran with thick smoke. However, the name of the prospective new leader has not yet been disclosed.

The Assembly of Experts, the clerical body tasked with selecting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s replacement, who died more than a week ago in an attack that triggered conflict in the Middle East, has reached a decision but has not disclosed the name of the new leader.

‘The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen,’ said Assembly of Experts member Ahmad Alamolhoda, quoted by AFP from Mehr News on Sunday (8/3/2026).

Alamolhoda said the body’s secretariat would later announce the name. Another assembly member confirmed that a decision had been made, with one member suggesting that the late leader’s son would take the post.

Meanwhile, Israel issued a stern warning that its troops would not hesitate to target the new leader and members of the Assembly of Experts meeting to formalise his installation.

As of the ninth day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had enough stockpiles to continue drone and missile warfare in the Middle East for up to six months.