Ayatollah picks successors amid U.S-Israel assassination fears
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly prepared contingency plans and identified three possible successors in the event he is assassinated or dies, as tensions with the United States and Israel intensify.
According to senior officials, authority has also been distributed across multiple layers of the political and military command structure to ensure the Islamic Republic can continue functioning even if communications are disrupted during a conflict.
The preparations highlight Tehran’s concern about potential targeted strikes on senior leadership figures as regional confrontations, proxy clashes and military threats continue to escalate across the Middle East.
Khamenei, who has led Iran since 1989, holds ultimate control over the armed forces, judiciary and key state institutions. Any sudden power vacuum could risk internal instability, making succession planning a critical national security priority.