In the coming days, a body of 88 senior clerics, known as the Assembly of Experts, will select a successor for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speculation is rife that the position will be filled by his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Mojtaba is a significant figure with strong links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite wing of Iran’s military. He is said to be well-connected, and already influential within the regime, holding a deep understanding of its inner-workings.
The potential appointment of Mojtaba to the top position carries weight, and would signal “a continuation of the regime” according to Maha Yahya, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center.
“The regime is still holding together and we see that,” the analyst added, “We see that very clearly there have been no cracks, no leaks, nothing. It’s holding together and it’s holding together quite well.”
Yahya explained that as a successor, Mojtaba Khamenei would likely intensify the regime, as he is considered more of a “hardliner” than his father, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Saturday. If he is appointed, she added, the move would be considered a signal from the regime that US-Israel military pressure is “not going to get us to shift position.”
Yahya noted that Iran’s strategy has been to hit potential threats to its regime economically, “Iran’s strategy … has been to really increase the cost on everyone,” she explained, “It’s targeting energy infrastructure, which is affecting Europe and other parts of the world. It’s targeting civilian infrastructure.”
CNN’s Christian Edwards and Mustafa Qadri contributed to this report. This post has been updated.