Iran’s temporary leadership council is facing pressure to swiftly appoint a new supreme leader, according to reports.
The nation’s Assembly of Experts could meet within a day to choose the next leader, after former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86 was killed by US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
One assembly member, Ayatollah Hossein Mozafari, suggested that the clerics would shortly convene.
It is unclear whether the 88-member council would meet in person or online, with some consultations having been conducted remotely.
Since Khamenei’s assassination, Iran has been led by a three-person council comprising of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.
It comes as state media quoted Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi saying a new supreme leader would help ‘better organise the country’s affairs’.
Another grand ayatollah, Hossein Nouri Hamedan, urged for the process of selecting a new leader to be accelerated.
Among frontrunners for the top job is the late supreme leader’s son Mojtaba Khamenei.
The younger Khamenei, 56, has a background in Islamic theology and ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Both his mother, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh and his wife Zahra Adel were reportedly killed in the airstrikes.
His views are considered to be hardline conservative and, despite having never held a formal office, he is thought to be the most influential of Khamenei Sr’s children.
Under the rules of Iran’s constitution, a new supreme leader must be chosen within three months.
Donald Trump reiterated his demand on Saturday to be involved in the selection of Khamenei’s successor.
However Iran’s UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani insisted the process would be concluded ‘without any foreign interference’.
Pictures of the late Khamenei were held up by protesters at a ‘Stop The War’ march against the strikes on Iran in central London on Saturday.
As the conflict entered its second week, Iran apologised to Gulf neighbours, insisting that no further strikes would be targeted at those countries unless an attack originated from them, while vowing to continue attacks on US and Israeli assets.
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