Does the death of Supreme Leader Khamenei mean Iran will immediately undergo a “regime change”?
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both publicly claimed that Khamenei has died, asserting that his body has been found and portraying this as a major victory against the Iranian regime. The news was later publicly confirmed by Iranian state media. Does Khamenei’s death mean that Iran will now experience political upheaval leading to an immediate change of regime? Khamenei’s death will lead to a rapid change in leadership, but not necessarily to reformists taking power. Iran’s political system includes a built‑in succession mechanism. The Supreme Leader is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, which typically favors candidates from conservative religious or military circles. Public analyses (including U.S. intelligence assessments) have predicted that if Khamenei dies, his successor is likely to come from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or the hardline religious conservative camp, rather than from moderate reformists. This means th...