{"id":3877,"date":"2026-03-02T05:57:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=3877"},"modified":"2026-03-02T05:57:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:57:40","slug":"128933517-cms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=3877","title":{"rendered":"Ali Khamenei: Khamenei dead, who will lead Iran? Trump says \u2018three very good choices\u2019 &#8211; The Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"MwN2O\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"T22zO\">\n<div class=\"LVN95\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-128934044,imgsize-28452,width-400,resizemode-4\/128934044.jpg\" title=\"Iran Appoints Interim Leader After Khamenei Killing; Who Is Alireza Arafi | WAtch\" imgsize=\"23456\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdersrc=\"\" placeholdermsid=\"\" msid=\"\" type=\"thumb\" alt=\"Iran Appoints Interim Leader After Khamenei Killing; Who Is Alireza Arafi | WAtch\" class=\"undefined\"\/><\/div>\n<section class=\"D3Wk1  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<p><span title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>US pesident <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/donald-trump\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Donald Trump<\/a> has said he and his team have a shortlist of three possible leaders for Iran after the country\u2019s supreme leader was killed, but he did not say who they were.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>&#8220;I won&#8217;t be revealing them now. Let&#8217;s get the job done first,&#8221; he told the New York Times.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>The military campaign has continued after Khamenei\u2019s death, with both the US and Israel striking Iranian military sites. Iran in return, has fired missiles and drones at Israel, US bases in the Gulf region, and other regional targets.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/> <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/> <\/p>\n<div class=\"lOvcW vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"k7lcu\">\n<p>Iran Appoints Interim Leader After Khamenei Killing; Who Is Alireza Arafi | WAtch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>Trump also said US military action in Iran could continue for \u201cfour to five weeks\u201d if needed. He has also suggested a transition model similar to what the US did in Venezuela, where the top leader was removed but many state structures stayed intact. <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint United States\u2013Israel airstrike, a major escalation in the ongoing conflict.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/> <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/> <\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component QbQNS undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"maps4 (1)\" msid=\"128935770\" width=\"\" title=\".\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"23456\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-23456,msid-128935770\/maps4-1.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Who is <keyword id=\"33679636\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"ayatollah-alireza-arafi\" source=\"keywords\">Ayatollah Alireza Arafi<\/keyword>?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>Tehran has appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as its interim supreme leader. Arafi, a senior cleric and a long-time insider in Iran\u2019s religious and political hierarchy, now faces the challenge of steering the Islamic Republic during a period of heightened regional tensions and internal uncertainty.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>Arafi was born in 1959 in Meybod in Yazd province and comes from a clerical family. He studied in Qom, Iran\u2019s main seminary city, and became a mujtahid, allowing him to issue independent Islamic legal rulings.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>His rise continued under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who appointed him to important roles, including leading Friday prayers in Meybod and later in Qom. Arafi also headed Al-Mustafa International University and in 2019 became a member of the Guardian Council, which reviews laws and election candidates.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>Trump has also said he was open to dialogue with Iran\u2019s new leadership. He told The Atlantic that Iran\u2019s leaders have expressed a desire to talk and that he has agreed to do so. \u201cThey want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,\u201d he said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>How Iran select its leader?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>In Iran\u2019s constitutional process, an assembly of experts, an 88-member body of clerics elected every eight years, must select the full-time supreme leader. The body is also known for disqualifying candidates in Iran\u2019s elections.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>There has been only one previous transfer of power in the position of Iran\u2019s supreme leader, the country\u2019s highest authority since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Potential names to lead Iran<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>Mojtaba Khamenei,56, is the second-eldest son of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is seen by some insiders as a leading contender. According to Reuters, sources say he has long been viewed as a possible successor and is aligned with his father\u2019s hardline policies. <!-- -->The US treasury department has flagged him over an alleged $1.5 billion transfer out of Iran, with secretary Scott Bessent accusing Iran\u2019s leadership of \u201cabandoning ship\u201d.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"51\"\/>Hassan Khomeini, 53, is the grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. He has recently emerged as a serious contender within the system. Some observers see him as a more conciliatory figure compared to other hardliners, both in domestic politics and in dealing with the international community.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"54\"\/>Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, had called for the overthrow of Iran\u2019s ruling system following the recent strikes. The NCRI presents itself as a government-in-exile and says it has a plan for a six-month transitional administration leading to free elections, separation of religion and state, gender equality and a non-nuclear Iran.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"56\"\/>Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran\u2019s last monarch and a key voice behind the protests in Iran has also spoken about a democratic transition. In posts on X, he described US action as targeting the regime rather than the Iranian people and urged citizens to return to the streets.<\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/khamenei-dead-who-will-lead-iran-trump-says-three-very-good-choices\/articleshow\/128933517.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump US pesident Donald Trump has said he and his team have a shortlist of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10332,811,10367,967,3611,10302],"class_list":["post-3877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ali-khamenei","tag-ayatollah-ali-khamenei","tag-ayatollah-alireza-arafi","tag-donald-trump","tag-iran","tag-khamenei"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}