Several members of Iran's Assembly of Experts have stated that the new Supreme Leader has been chosen, but the identity has not yet been announced. It is initially believed that meetings cannot be held due to attacks by the United States and Israel.
On 8 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Ayatollah Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, a senior cleric and member of Iran's Assembly of Experts—which holds the authority to select the country's Supreme Leader—told Mehr News Agency that the election has taken place and the new leader has been appointed.
Alam al-Hoda said that rumors suggesting the Assembly of Experts had not yet made a decision were entirely false. He added that it is now up to the Assembly's Secretariat, led by Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri, to decide when to announce the appointment.
Ayatollah Haidari, another member of the Assembly of Experts, told ISNA news agency that the “best” candidate, approved by the majority of the Assembly, has been selected. He added, “Notably, even the ‘Great Satan’ has mentioned the name of the individual chosen by the Assembly's representatives.”
The term “Great Satan” is used by Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's Islamic Revolution leader and predecessor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to refer to the United States.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump stated it would be unacceptable if Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, were to succeed his father, who died in an Israeli airstrike on 28 Feb.
However, despite the conclusion of the new Supreme Leader's selection, no official statement has been released by the responsible committee for the succession several hours later, prompting dissatisfaction among several Assembly members.
Some experts have suggested that the delay in announcement may be due to the Assembly's inability to convene in person amid threats of attacks from the United States and Israel.
Mohsen Borhani, a legal scholar from Tehran University, posted on platform X that according to Iran's constitution and Assembly regulations, discussions and consultations must be conducted with at least two-thirds of members physically present. “If these conditions are not met, any announcement would be considered legally incomplete.”
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Source:cnn