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How does Iran go about selecting a new supreme leader? And who is in the running?

  • Written by Eric Lob, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University

The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, 2026, set off the process of selecting a new supreme leader. It is only the second such transition in the Islamic Republic’s 47-year history and the first since the ailing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini transferred power to Khamenei in June 1989.

As stipulated in Article 111 of the Iranian...

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