Khamenei Killed, Iran Enters Power Transition as War With US and Israel Escalates

Iran has established an interim leadership council as the country faces a critical succession process following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

TEHRAN — Iran has entered one of the most uncertain periods in the history of the Islamic Republic following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike on February 28, 2026.

The Iranian government moved quickly to establish an interim leadership structure aimed at preventing a power vacuum while the country remains engaged in an escalating military confrontation with the United States and Israel.

Under Article 111 of Iran’s Constitution, the responsibilities of the Supreme Leader are temporarily assumed by a council consisting of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and a member of the Guardian Council.

The council is not intended to permanently replace Khamenei. Its primary role is to maintain continuity at the top of the Iranian state until a new Supreme Leader is selected.

That decision formally belongs to the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of senior Islamic clerics elected every eight years. Candidates, however, must first pass a vetting process conducted by the Guardian Council, meaning the body has historically been dominated by figures loyal to the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s Constitution requires the Assembly of Experts to select a new Supreme Leader as quickly as possible. The process is particularly sensitive because the country is simultaneously dealing with military attacks, the deaths of senior officials and the possibility of a prolonged regional conflict.

Khamenei’s death also came amid a broader decapitation of Iran’s senior leadership. The U.S. and Israeli strikes reportedly killed senior military and security figures, putting additional pressure on Iran’s political and military establishment to demonstrate that the state remains functional.

Iranian officials have sought to project precisely that message.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had the right to respond to those responsible for Khamenei’s death.

“It is our legitimate duty and right to punish the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime,” Pezeshkian said.

The possibility of Khamenei’s death had been considered by Iran’s leadership for years. The issue became more urgent after the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June 2025, when Israel succeeded in killing senior nuclear scientists and military commanders.

Those attacks demonstrated the vulnerability of Iran’s senior leadership and raised questions over whether the country had prepared sufficiently for the sudden loss of its Supreme Leader.

Khamenei was reportedly concerned about the possibility of a leadership vacuum and had instructed officials to prepare contingency plans for senior positions.

For years, speculation over his successor has centered on several senior clerics. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was repeatedly mentioned as one possible candidate, although other senior religious figures were also considered.

The succession question, however, goes beyond the identity of one individual. It could determine the future direction of the Islamic Republic, including its relationship with the United States, Israel, regional allies and its own powerful security establishment.

Analysts have described the situation as an existential crisis for Iran’s leadership.

Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the leadership was facing a fundamental threat to the survival of the Islamic Republic.

“This is an existential moment for the leadership of the Islamic Republic,” Geranmayeh said.

She argued that Tehran could view maximum escalation not simply as a bargaining strategy, but as an attempt to preserve the regime itself.

H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the speed of Iran’s response indicated that preparations for a major leadership crisis may already have been in place.

“The speed and coordination seen reflects how seriously Tehran views the threat,” Hellyer said.

The danger is that the conflict could expand beyond Iran and Israel.

Dr HA Hellyer is non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

Iran’s regional allies and armed groups, often referred to collectively as the “Axis of Resistance,” could become more directly involved if the fighting continues. Although several of these groups have suffered significant military setbacks in recent years, they remain capable of creating additional pressure across the region.

Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher on Iran at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, warned that a prolonged conflict could activate multiple regional fronts.

“This is a confrontation of life and death,” Citrinowicz said, emphasizing that the current crisis could carry greater risks than the 12-day war in 2025.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, likewise warned that Iran could seek to expand the conflict as part of an effort to preserve the Islamic Republic.

For Washington and Jerusalem, the situation presents a difficult strategic calculation. Military pressure could weaken Iran’s leadership, but a sudden collapse of the Islamic Republic could also trigger instability that would be difficult to contain.

The central question is therefore not simply who succeeds Khamenei, but what kind of Iran emerges afterward.

A successor could maintain Khamenei’s hard-line policies, adjust Iran’s approach to the West, or attempt to consolidate power by strengthening the role of the military and security establishment.

Subsequent developments indicated that the succession process ultimately produced a new Supreme Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei’s son.

The transition nevertheless leaves Iran facing enormous challenges. The country must simultaneously manage the war, maintain internal stability, preserve the authority of the Islamic Republic and determine how aggressively it should respond to the United States and Israel.

Khamenei’s death therefore represents more than the end of one leader’s rule. It marks a pivotal moment for the 47-year-old Islamic Republic and could reshape the balance of power across the Middle East.

As the conflict continues, the success or failure of Iran’s leadership transition could become one of the most consequential factors determining whether the region moves toward de-escalation or a much wider war.

(SA)