In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Noble and freedom-loving people of Islamic Iran, peace and God’s blessings be upon you.
The Assembly of Experts, while extending its condolences on the martyrdom of the great Leader, his Eminence Grand Ayatollah Imam Ali Khamenei (may God sanctify his pure soul), and the other esteemed martyrs, especially the honorable commanders and the self-sacrificing members of the armed forces, as well as the students of the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, and while condemning the brutal aggression of criminal America and the malicious Zionist regime, announces the following:
Immediately after the news of the martyrdom and heavenly ascension of the wise and sagacious Leader of the Islamic Revolution was published, despite the severe wartime conditions and the direct threats of the enemies against this popular institution, and despite the bombing of the offices of the secretariat of the Assembly of Experts, which led to the martyrdom of several staff members and members of its security team, the Assembly did not pause even for a moment in the process of selecting and introducing the Leader of the Islamic system. In accordance with the duties stipulated in the Constitution and the internal regulations of the Assembly of Experts, the necessary measures and arrangements were placed on the agenda to hold an extraordinary session and introduce a new Leader.
Accordingly, appropriate planning and the required coordination were carried out to gather the honorable representatives of this Assembly, who are present in different parts of the country, so that, despite the prudent provisions foreseen in Article 111 of the Constitution for the formation of a temporary council, the country would not face any leadership vacuum.
While honoring the lofty position of the Wilayat al-Faqih during the occultation of His Holiness the Awaited Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance), and recognizing the importance of leadership in the system of the Islamic Republic, the Assembly of Experts commemorates the 47 years of wise governance based on the principles of dignity, independence, and strength by the two Leaders of the Islamic Revolution. While honoring the memory of those divine and popular Leaders, the Assembly announces that after careful and extensive deliberations and by making use of the authority granted under Article 108 of the Constitution, and in fulfillment of its religious duty and with the conviction of standing before Almighty God, in today’s extraordinary session it has, by the decisive vote of the honorable representatives of the Assembly of Experts, appointed and introduced Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may God protect him) as the Third Leader of the Sacred Islamic Republic of Iran.
In conclusion, while expressing appreciation to the members of the temporary council stipulated in Article 111 of the Constitution, the Assembly calls upon all the noble people of Iran, especially the intellectuals and scholars of the religious seminaries and universities, to pledge allegiance to the Leadership and to preserve unity around the pillqr of Wilayah. It also prays for the continued grace and blessings of the Almighty upon this country and its great people.
Assembly of Experts for Leadership
*Source: khamenei.ir
About the new leader
Born in 1969, Mojtaba is the second of Ali Khamenei’s six children. As a young man, he fought as a volunteer during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and later studied religion in Qom, one of Iran’s holiest cities and a major center of Shia theology.
Mojtaba’s sister and several other relatives were killed in the same airstrike that killed his father. Israeli media reported that Mojtaba was wounded in the attack.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), through its media arm Sepah, has pledged allegiance to the new supreme leader.
The Iranian Supreme National Security Council secretary, Ali Larijani, thanked the Assembly of Experts for convening despite the ongoing airstrikes, including last week’s strike on the assembly’s headquarters in Qom. He said the selection of the new supreme leader proceeded in a timely and orderly manner despite “the tricks of enemies who had hoped for a deadlock” following the death of Ali Khamenei.
