It was reported then that Khamenei, who spent the battle in his particular bunker, was drawing up lists of safety officers who might instantly step into place to keep away from any vacuum within the prime echelons.
And even earlier than final 12 months’s hostilities, it was reported that Khamenei had instructed the Assembly of Experts, the physique of some 88 senior clerics tasked with selecting a supreme chief, to be prepared for each eventuality. The New York Times wrote that he had chosen “three senior clerics” as potential replacements if he had been to be assassinated.
There has been hypothesis for a few years about who might take his place, together with his son Mojtaba.
It is not simply the supreme chief who was killed on this first day of air strikes and focused assaults. Those who’re nonetheless in place, or have needed to step into extra senior roles, will need to ship a message to the world that they’re nonetheless firmly in cost and the succession will probably be seamless.
But the tip of the Ayatollah’s 36-year rule will probably be a jolt to his supporters, most of all his aides and allies within the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) tasked with defending him and the Islamic revolution at dwelling and past.
But the BBC has verified movies exhibiting teams of individuals celebrating the experiences of his demise on the streets of Tehran and Karaj.
