[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The apparent death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after Israel dropped 30 bombs on his compound, is a political and religious earthquake for Iran. It leaves a dangerous vacuum that the regime he has dominated since 1989 must now seek to fill quickly to avoid utter chaos. There is no single obvious successor who has the support of all the disparate elements of Tehran's clergy, military and political leadership. And some of the potential new leaders may also have been killed in the strikes.Numerous US and Israeli TV networks reported Khamenei was dead, citing Israeli sources. There was no immediate confirmation from the White House or Tehran.
In recent years, a favorite to succeed the 86-year-old Supreme Leader had been the hardline President Ebrahim Raisi, but he was killed in a helicopter crash in May 2024.
One contender, if he survived the bombardment, is Mojtaba Khamenei, 55, the Ayatollah's second-eldest son. However, while Mojtaba is a powerful and hardline figure in the background, he has never held government office.
Experts believe an increasing possibility is a takeover by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - leading to a military rather than clerical form of government. In recent weeks, the CIA assessed that, if Khamenei was killed in a 'decapitation strike,' he would likely be replaced by ruthlessly hardline figures from the IRGC.
Iran’s military commanders hold the country’s future in their hands,' according to Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program. 'That imperative could well expand their appetites, and when Khamenei passes from the scene - either as a result of natural causes or decapitation strikes - so too could any effort to sustain the pretense of religious legitimacy in favor of military rule.'
That would mean even more brutal responses to popular uprisings amid UkS entreaties for the Iranian people to overthrow their government.
It would also continue to frustrate US attempts to get Iran to denuclearize.
Alternatively, if it doesn't lurch even more into repression, the regime could appoint a figure who can deal with the United States, in the same way Delcy RodrÃguez took over as acting president in Venezuela after the capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro last month.