The clerical body tasked with selecting Iran’s next supreme leader, following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is nearing a consensus on his successor. This development was shared by Ayatollah Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri, a member of the Assembly of Experts, on Sunday.

According to the Mehr news agency, Mirbaqeri acknowledged that while a majority agreement has been largely reached, there remain “some obstacles” in the process that need addressing.

In related news, a senior cleric within the Assembly of Experts indicated that its members are prepared to convene “within one day” to make their final decision on the new leader.

NEXT SUPREME LEADER MUST ‘BE HATED BY THE ENEMY’

Reports from Iranian media have highlighted statements from two panel members, Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir and Ahmad Alamolhoda, confirming that a successor has already been chosen by the assembly.

Ahmad Alamolhoda mentioned that Ayatollah Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, who heads the assembly’s secretariat, is designated to announce the assembly’s decision officially.

There appears to be a minor debate within the group, as reported by Iranian media, regarding whether it is necessary for them to meet in person to finalize their decision, or if they can bypass this procedural formality.

Heidari Alekasir said in a video released by Nournews on Sunday that an in-person meeting was not possible under current conditions, suggesting at remote and written alternatives.

“This is an extraordinary situation, the assembly cannot meet in a plenary,” he said, adding that targeting the assembly would only benefit Iran’s enemies and “harm the revolution.”

Since the war began on February 28, Israeli and US strikes have killed dozens of officials and commanders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Iranian media reporting on Tuesday that strikes flattened an auxiliary building of the Assembly of Experts in the city of Qom.

Heidari Alekasir said the candidate had been picked based on the late supreme leader’s advice that Iran’s top leader should “be hated by the enemy” instead of praised by it.

“Even the Great Satan (US) has mentioned his name,” the senior cleric said of the chosen successor, days after US President Donald Trump said Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was an “unacceptable” choice for him.

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Trump said on Thursday that the younger Khamenei, a mid-ranking hard-line cleric, was the most likely successor, according to Axios, but warned he would reject such an option and that he should be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was not in Tehran when his father was killed by air strikes early in the war, an Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday.

He has close ties to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and is one of the most influential figures in the Iranian clerical establishment, thanks to the influence he built behind the scenes and his role as his father’s gatekeeper, according to people familiar with the matter.

He has for years been seen as one of the top candidates to succeed the elder Khamenei, despite never holding a government position, aside from working in his father’s office.

Ali Khamenei ruled Iran from 1989 as supreme leader after serving as president for nearly eight years.

Mojtaba Khamenei was a particular target for criticism by protesters during unrest over the death of a young ​woman in police custody in 2022, after she ​was arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic Republic’s strict dress codes.

He is seen as having leverage over Iran’s security apparatus, which has repressed several waves of protests in recent years.