Iran’s next supreme leader could be selected within “one or two days,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday as the country moves to fill the position left vacant after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Pezeshkian said the leadership transition process is already underway despite U.S.-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region.
President Donald Trump has also hinted at having a possible new leader in mind, saying, “There are some good candidates.”
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Former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has been leading the opposition and has previously stated he would lead any transition government. Pahlavi, whose family ruled Iran before the 1979 revolution, has not yet received an endorsement from Trump.
Under Iran’s constitution, an interim leadership structure has temporarily assumed the duties of the supreme leader while a permanent successor is chosen. The caretaker body includes Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Mohseni Ejei, and senior cleric from the Guardian Council Alireza Arafi.
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The country’s Assembly of Experts, which is an 88-member clerical body, is responsible for selecting the new supreme leader. The group is required to move quickly following a leader’s death and meets behind closed doors to deliberate among qualified senior clerics before announcing a decision.
Khamenei’s killing during the opening phase of the U.S.-Israel military campaign has created a consequential leadership crisis in Iran, as Khamenei has ruled for 37 years. The compressed timeline reflects both constitutional requirements and pressure on Iran’s leadership to demonstrate continuity as the country faces active military conflict and internal uncertainty.
Iranian authorities have declared national mourning while simultaneously coordinating military responses to continued Israeli strikes and defending against attacks across multiple fronts.
Possible successors have not been publicly named, and the selection could shape Iran’s domestic direction and foreign policy posture at a moment of escalating confrontation.
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Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said there is looming uncertainty about how conflict in Iran will play out following Khamenei’s death.
“We have had very little visibility into what happens next after the supreme leader is eliminated,” Warner said on CNN. “I think we still don’t know what is happening next.”