Iran’s theocracy faces uncertain transition after Khamenei’s death
US base in Saudi Arabia under attack
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin joins ‘America Reports’ to cover the latest developments in the wake of US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
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Iran entered a new chapter on Saturday following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; It brought an abrupt end to more than three decades of authoritarian rule and set in motion a leadership transition that the regime had long been preparing for.
A senior Arab diplomat He told The Times of Israel Although Khamenei’s death was a “major blow” to the Islamic Republic, Tehran foresaw this possibility and took steps to counter such a scenario.
Following US and Israeli attacks across the country, the diplomat said of the regime, “At this point, even surviving would be considered a victory.”
A new report The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) outlined three general trajectories for post-Khamenei Iran: continuity of the governed regime, outright or gradual military takeover, or systemic collapse.
Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli attack on Saturday. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)
The CFR warned that even a change in leadership at the top would not necessarily translate into meaningful political reform in the near term, given the regime’s deeply institutionalized power structure and its record of using force to maintain control.
The report states that the real balance of power lies within a narrow circle of clerical elites and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
He describes a possible “continuity” scenario in which a successor from within the regime preserves the ideological framework of the Islamic Republic while relying on established security institutions to maintain stability, producing “Khameneiism without Khamenei.”
LEAKED DOCUMENTS EXPOSE KHAMENEI’S HIDDEN DEADLY PLAN TO CRUSH IRANIAN PROTESTS
“The Islamic Republic’s constitution includes a process of succession. The Assembly of Experts, a clerical body, is constitutionally charged with selecting the next religious leader,” said Policy Director Jason Brodsky. Unity Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) told Fox News Digital.
“Meanwhile, in the event of a leadership vacancy, an interim leadership council will be formed consisting of the president, chief justice and a Guardian Council member selected by the Eligibility Council,” he added. “IRGC is a key stakeholder in this process and will greatly influence its outcome.”
Over the past three decades, Bayt-e Rahbari, or the Office of the Religious Leader, has expanded. February report UANI describes itself as a “sprawling parallel state” operating alongside Iran’s official institutions.
Large crowds gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab Square on Sunday after Iranian state television announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in an Israeli attack. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The analysis characterizes the Office as the regime’s “hidden nerve centre”, extending control across the military, security establishment and major economic bases in a way that makes the system’s authority institutional rather than dependent on Khamenei’s physical presence.
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“Today, the religious leader is no longer a single man; he is represented through an all-encompassing institution that consolidates power, manages succession and guarantees continuity,” the non-partisan policy organization said. he said. “The Islamic Republic’s most enduring strength lies in this secret architecture of control that will continue to shape the country’s future long after Khamenei has left the scene.”
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