Khamenei Names Successor Shortlist From Bunker Amid Israeli Assassination Threats; Son Excluded: Reports

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly named three clerics as potential successors, while taking refuge in a bunker amid assassination threats from Israel during the ongoing conflict.

According to The New York Times, which cited three Iranian officials with knowledge of the situation, Khamenei has also begun appointing replacements for senior military commanders who were killed in recent Israeli airstrikes.

Photo Credit: AP/PTI

Notably, despite previous speculation that Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, was being prepared for the leadership role, the officials stated he is not among those shortlisted to succeed his father.

The report suggests that the 86-year-old Supreme Leader is fully aware of the possibility that either Israel or the United States could attempt to assassinate him - a prospect he reportedly views as martyrdom.

In response to these threats, Khamenei has taken the unusual step of urging the Assembly of Experts - the clerical council responsible for choosing Iran's next Supreme Leader - to act swiftly and select a successor from the three names he has personally put forward.

Typically, the selection process for a new Supreme Leader is lengthy, involving considerable deliberation and numerous candidates. However, in the midst of war, Khamenei is said to be pushing for a rapid and controlled transition to protect both the Islamic Republic and the legacy he leaves behind.

"The top priority is the preservation of the state," The New York Times quoted Vali Nasr, an Iran specialist and professor at Johns Hopkins University, as saying. "It is all calculative and pragmatic," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Thursday that while Israel's main objective is to dismantle Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, "we may create the conditions" for regime change in Tehran.

When asked whether this included targeting the Supreme Leader himself, Netanyahu replied, "no one is immune".

Conflict Enters Second Week

The second week of hostilities between Israel and Iran began with renewed Israeli strikes on a nuclear research facility near the city of Isfahan.

Meanwhile, talks held in Geneva on Friday between European foreign ministers and Iran's top diplomat failed to yield any diplomatic progress.

US President Donald Trump is still deliberating over the extent of American military involvement, amid rising concerns that Iranian nuclear reactors could be targeted in future strikes.

Nevertheless, European officials expressed cautious optimism about future negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he remained open to dialogue, but made clear that Tehran would not enter talks while Israeli attacks continued.