Iran’s Assembly of Experts is set to hold an emergency session on Thursday to formally announce Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late Supreme Leader, as the next leader, despite opposition from some members who warn against “hereditary leadership,” Iran International has learned.
The meeting comes two days after Iran International reported that the Assembly of Experts had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards.
Two sources from the offices of Assembly of Experts representatives told Iran International that at least eight members will not attend the emergency session on Thursday in protest at what they described as “heavy pressure” from the Revolutionary Guards to impose Mojtaba Khamenei.
The first emergency meeting of the clerical body to choose a successor to Ali Khamenei was held on Tuesday, but ended prematurely after Israeli airstrikes targeted the Assembly building in the city of Qom.
According to sources, Thursday’s meeting will be held online and managed from a building near the shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom. Some representatives and members of the Assembly’s leadership board who live in Qom may attend in person.
