Iran prepares for post-Khamenei era amid relentless strikes

TEHRAN

Shiite Muslim women shouting slogans gather during a protest outside the US consulate in Lahore on March 1, 2026 after the death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid US-Israel strikes.

Iranians on March 4 were set to begin a three-day mourning ceremony to bid farewell to their slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Iran preparing to announce its new leadership amid ongoing strikes.

Killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, Khamenei is set to be buried in the city of Mashhad on March 6, according to media reports. The public ceremonies, which are expected to draw thousands of Iranians wishing to pay their respects, will begin late on March 4 in Tehran and continue for three days.

Meanwhile, Iran on March 4 continued its preparations for the post-Khamenei period, as the conflict with the United States and Israel enters its fifth day.

Numerous media reports suggested that authorities are expected to reveal Khamenei’s successor in the coming days.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the killed supreme leader, has long been considered a contender to the post of the country's next paramount ruler, even before an Israeli strike killed his father despite the fact he's has never been elected or appointed to a government position.

A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since Feb. 28.

Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to still be alive and has likely gone into hiding as the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Iran.

Mojtaba Khamenei's name continues to circulate as a possible candidate to replace his father, something that had been criticized in the past as potentially creating a theocratic version of Iran's former hereditary monarchy.

There has been only one other transfer of power in the office of supreme leader of Iran, the paramount decision-maker since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died at age 86 after being the figurehead of the revolution and leading Iran through its eight-year war with Iraq.

Now the new leader will come on board after the 12-day war with Israel and as a U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is seeking to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat and military power, hoping also the Iranian people will rise up against the Iranian theocracy

Amid reports on the new leader, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that whoever Iran picks as the country’s next supreme leader, he will be “a target for elimination.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel hit Iran's capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on March 4, the fifth day of the war with Iran.

Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces as the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel and across the region.

Tehran residents woke to the sound of dawn blasts, and Iranian state television showed the ruins of building in the center of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were targeted.