New Delhi, Mar 5 : Iran has not yet elected the successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli airstrike last week, a senior Iranian official said Thursday.
Ayatollah Dr Abdul Majeed Hakeemelahi, the representative of Iran’s supreme leader in India, also said that the process to elect a new leader is still underway.
“This news is not true because, till now, they (the council) have not chosen or nominated anyone, and the process is still underway,” Hakeemelahi told PTI when asked about some media reports claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as his successor.
“There are several candidates for this position, and Ayatollah Mojtaba is one of them. It is not because he is the son of Ayatollah Khamenei. Rather, because of his qualifications, they may consider choosing him. But it is not finalised, and they are still assessing to find the qualified person for this position,” he said.
Explaining the process of the election of the supreme leader of Iran, Hakeemelahi said an 88-member Assembly of Experts council is elected by vote during the elections in Iran.
“One of the responsibilities of this council is to elect the supreme leader. Now they have started negotiating to get a qualified person for this position,” he said.
“They (council members) did a lot of discussion, but the situation is not good because we are under attack by the US and Israel. So when they get the good situation, and they gather, they will choose the one who is qualified for this position,” he added.
The supreme leader is the highest political and religious authority of Iran. He has a final say over policy matters. He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
When asked if Iran is ready to take the risk of publicly naming the new supreme leader in view of Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s threat to target him, Hakeemelahi said, “Iran is ready to defend itself.”
Israeli and US strikes recently targeted a building of the Assembly of Experts in Qom city. TV footage by local media showed the building severely damaged in the strikes. Iran’s state media later reported that the building was no longer being used for meetings.
Recalling Khamenei, Hakeemelahi said, “He used to tell people to study about India. ‘If you want to know the history of Iran, you cannot understand it without understanding and studying the history of India’.”
Khamenei, 86, who became the Supreme Leader in 1989, held the position till his assassination in the joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28. His wife also succumbed to injuries days later. His daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were also killed in the airstrike.
