By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iran’s Supreme Leader, has reportedly handpicked three potential successors amid growing fears of Israeli decapitation strikes.
The secret selection, first revealed by The New York Times on Saturday and corroborated by multiple international outlets, suggests Iran’s most powerful man is actively preparing for the possibility of his death during the current military standoff with Israel.
Operating from the shadows
Now 86 and reportedly operating from a fortified underground bunker, Khamenei is said to have privately designated three senior clerics to assume the mantle of leadership if he is killed. According to unnamed senior Iranian officials quoted by The New York Times, the decision came after a spate of high-profile assassinations targeting top Iranian military and nuclear figures.
Strikingly, Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba — long seen as his likely heir — was excluded from the shortlist, marking a decisive shift away from the prospect of dynastic succession. The omission, reported also by The Jerusalem Post, is widely viewed as a deliberate attempt to counter long-standing speculation of a hereditary handover and to assert ideological rather than familial continuity.
Pre-empting tradition
Under Iran’s constitution, the Supreme Leader is formally chosen by the 88-member Assembly of Experts — a clerical council empowered to oversee and appoint the country’s highest authority. But analysts believe Khamenei’s covert selections represent an attempt to influence the post-Khamenei era from beyond the grave.
The Supreme Leader’s move appears to pre-empt the traditional process, reflecting both the urgency of the moment and a desire to preserve ideological stability during a time of extraordinary external threat.
“Khamenei has nominated three clerics as potential successors while hiding in a bunker… Mojtaba is not among them.” — The New York Times.
Succession under fire
The timing of Khamenei’s decision is telling. Since early June 2025, Israel has launched a series of targeted strikes that have killed top commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including General Hossein Salami and General Gholam Ali Rashid. These strikes have not only rattled Tehran but have also exposed the vulnerability of its command structure.
“At least 22 Mossad informants arrested after coordinated hits on IRGC targets.” — Tasnim News.
In response, Khamenei has also reportedly selected replacements down the military chain of command — a signal that the regime is bracing for further escalation and potentially catastrophic leadership losses.
“Iran is acting under the assumption that decapitation strikes are imminent.” — The Jerusalem Post.
No reformists, no surprises
Although the identities of the three clerics have not been officially disclosed, sources say they are figures deeply aligned with the hardline ideological core of the regime — a continuity strategy rather than a pivot toward reform.
By avoiding the appointment of any clerics with perceived reformist tendencies, Khamenei appears to be safeguarding his conservative legacy and insulating the system from potential liberalisation pressures during a future power vacuum.
Regional tremors
Foreign governments and intelligence agencies are watching closely, as any perceived power struggle or leadership void in Tehran could destabilise a region already teetering on the edge.