As the White House confirmed on Sunday, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leadership has contacted the U.S. asking for talks. The list of potential successors to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday by an Israeli airstrike, includes his son and former advisers. 

Since the establishment in 1979 of the Islamic Republic, led by the fiery anti-American Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, this will be only the second time that a new supreme leader has been selected. 

The potential successors to Khamenei include a list of hard-line anti-Western extremists who, like Khamenei, are set on the destruction of Israel and the continued export of the Islamic revolution.

Ali Larijani

One possible successor is regime loyalist Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who reportedly implemented Khamenei’s plan to massacre over 30,000 Iranians who protested against his regime in January.

On Saturday, he threatened a response in a statement on X on Saturday, writing, «We will make the Zionist criminals and the vile Americans regret it,» adding, «The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hell-bound oppressors of the international order.»

In January, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Larijani as one of «the architects of the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.» The statement added, «Larijani was one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people.»

Ali Larijani, addresses a press conference in Tehran, Iran. (Henghameh Fahimi/AFP via Getty Images)

Larijani was the president of the Islamic Republic’s parliament and, like Khamenei, has engaged in Holocaust denial. Larijani was also a commander for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S. and EU-designated terrorist organization.

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Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute of National Security Studies in Israel, questioned reports claiming that Larijani is favorite to be the next supreme leader. He told Fox News Digital, «Larijani is not a cleric, but he can help some of the candidates who are clerics behind the curtains, such as his brother, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, who was head of the judiciary.» 

Mohammad-Javad Larijani

The secretary general of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, attends a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Iran, on June 24, 2019, in the capital Tehran.  (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Mohammad-Javad Larijani has called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust. He was previously secretary general of Iran’s high council for human rights. 

As a close adviser to the late supreme leader, he has defended stoning for adultery, declaring it protects «family values» as part of Islamic law. 

Mojataba Khamenei

File photo shows Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attending a demonstration to mark Jerusalem day in Tehran.  (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Another replacement for Khamenei might be his second son, Mojtaba, who works closely with IRGC. The first Trump administration sanctioned him in 2019. 

According to the Treasury Department sanction designation, «The Supreme Leader has delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities to Mojataba Khamenei, who worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and also the Basij Resistance Force (Basij) to advance his father’s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.» 

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Iran International reported that the IRGC seeks a rapid-fire replacement for Khamenei. The Islamic system in Iran prescribes an elected body of 88 senior clerics—the Assembly of Experts—to select the next leader.

Iranian worshippers hold up their hands as signs of unity with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an anti-Israeli rally to condemn Israel’s attacks on Iran, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on June 20, 2025.  (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Alireza Arafi

The cleric and jurist Alireza Arafi, 67, who is part of a three-person temporary leadership council to run Iran might also be the successor to Khamenei.

According to the U.S.group United Against a Nuclear Iran, Arafi promised «death» to protesters who knock over the turbans of Iranian Islamic clerics. «Those who attack the turbans of the clergy should know that the turban will become their shroud,» Arafi said. 

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People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo) (AP Photo)

Ayatollah Mohammad-Mehdi Mirbagheri 

The extremist Ayatollah Mohammad-Mehdi Mirbagheri is also a contender to replace Khamenei. Mirbagheri argues for fighting and overcoming «infidels.» 

Mirbagheri has quoted Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, declaring that a «new culture based on Islam in the world» would mean «hardship, martyrdom and hunger» and that Iranian people had «voluntarily chosen» to embrace this activity, according to Iran International. Mirbagheri’s theological credentials position him as a natural replacement for Khamenei.

Other names

Another clerical successor to Khamenei being discussed is Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He is the custodian of the Khomeini mausoleum and, at 53 is young by the Islamic Republic’s standards for leadership.

United Against a Nuclear Iran ranked Ayatollah Seyyed Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, who was born in 1956 in Bardkhun, Bushehr, a second tier candidate to replace Khamenei.

Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

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«Bushehr, is a powerful figure in Iran’s religious and academic spheres. He embarked on his theological education in Bushehr before moving to Qom to further his studies. 

According to UANI, In 2024, Bushehri urged Iranian women to «address issues such as the status of women’s rights in Western societies and the flaws that exist in this area in the West,» which would prevent the «enemy [the West]» to «not even have a chance to challenges us [Iran].»

Iran analyst, Sabti, who was born in Tehran, said, «I don’t think that Israel and the U.S. should allow them to choose the next leader.» He compared the successor system to Hamas when Israel eliminates a Hamas terrorist leader, and he is swiftly replaced with a new leader. 

TEHRAN, IRAN – FEBRUARY 28: Smoke rises over the city center after an Israeli army launches 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026.  (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

«There is a need to «prevent the next leader from being chosen,» he said. «Maybe we can eliminate the next one even before he is chosen.» 

He said it is important to «break the system» to prevent the continuation of terrorism. «It is bad for Arab countries and Israel if the regime remains the same» in Iran.  

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Sabti said the regime can continue to build its illicit nuclear weapons program, ballistic missiles and sponsor terrorism, adding it is better to dissolve the regime and «bring in a new system. 

He concluded that regime change requires «talking to the people,» and, «maybe it is time for them to come out and make the good revolution.» 

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El presidente Donald Trump confirmó este domingo que el Ejército norteamericano hundió nueve embarcaciones navales iraníes y destruyó parcialmente el cuartel general de la Marina de Irán, durante el ataque masivo del sábado contra el régimen persa.

“Acabo de ser informado de que hemos destruido y hundido 9 barcos de la Marina iraní, algunos de ellos relativamente grandes e importantes”, dijo Trump en su plataforma Truth Social.

“Vamos por el resto: ¡pronto estarán reposando en el fondo del mar también! En otro ataque, destruimos en gran medida su cuartel general naval. ¡Aparte de eso, a su Marina le va muy bien!”.

Asimismo, este domingo declaró que “hablará” con los dirigentes iraníes, pero sin preisar cuándo ni quiénes serían sus interlocutores, según una entrevista con The Atlantic difundida el domingo.

“Ellos quieren hablar, y yo he aceptado hablar, así que hablaré con ellos. Deberían haberlo hecho antes”, dijo, de acuerdo con las declaraciones recogidas por esta revista estadounidense.

“La mayoría de esa gente ha muerto. Algunos de aquellos con quienes estábamos negociando han muerto”, añadió Trump, quien consideró que los dirigentes iraníes “quisieron pasarse de listos”.

Las declaraciones llegaron poco antes de que el Pentágono confirmara las primeras bajas estadounidenses de la campaña: tres militares muertos y cinco heridos graves en el operativo.

Trump se mostró convencido de que un levantamiento popular contra el régimen iraní es inminente, citando las celebraciones observadas en las calles de Irán y entre la diáspora en ciudades como Nueva York y Los Ángeles. “Eso va a ocurrir. Lo están viendo, y creo que va a pasar. Mucha gente está extremadamente feliz allá”, afirmó. Sin embargo, cuando se le preguntó si Estados Unidos prolongaría los bombardeos para apoyar una eventual rebelión, el mandatario se mostró evasivo: “Tengo que analizar la situación en el momento en que ocurra. No se puede dar una respuesta a esa pregunta.”

Consultado sobre posibles amenazas iraníes renovadas contra territorio estadounidense, Trump se negó a dar detalles. Sobre el impacto económico del conflicto, restó importancia a las proyecciones más pesimistas: “Esto podría haber sido un enorme aumento de precios del petróleo si las cosas hubieran salido mal”, señaló, descartando además que la guerra afecte las perspectivas republicanas en las elecciones de medio término. “Tenemos la mejor economía que hemos tenido jamás”, aseguró.

La apertura al diálogo contrasta con la intensidad de los combates en curso. Israel lanzó este domingo una nueva oleada de bombardeos sobre Teherán y prometió una “cadena de ataques sin interrupciones”, mientras los Guardianes de la Revolución iraníes llevaban lanzadas al menos ocho oleadas de misiles y drones contra Israel y bases militares en el Golfo. El saldo en Israel subió a al menos diez muertos, incluyendo nueve personas fallecidas en Beit Shemesh en el ataque más mortífero contra suelo israelí desde el inicio del conflicto.

La ofensiva del sábado fue la segunda vez en ocho meses que la administración Trump atacó conjuntamente con Israel a Irán. En junio de 2025, una operación de 12 días debilitó severamente las defensas aéreas, el liderazgo militar y el programa nuclear iraní. En esta ocasión, los ataques eliminaron al propio Khamenei y a buena parte del alto mando. Irán conformó un triunvirato de transición para gobernar el país hasta que la Asamblea de Expertos designe un nuevo líder supremo, mientras el presidente Masoud Pezeshkian calificó la venganza como “un deber y derecho legítimo” de la república islámica.

Trump cerró la entrevista con una reflexión sobre el largo historial de tensiones: “La gente ha querido hacer esto durante 47 años. Han matado gente durante 47 años, y ahora se les revirtió.”

One of President Donald Trump’s longtime Republican critics, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined Gang of Eight Democrats in opposition to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets.

Trump has not sought congressional approval for an attack on Iran, Massie wrote on X, rebuking «acts of war unauthorized by Congress.»

«I am opposed to this War,» Massie added in a second X post Saturday morning. «This is not ‘America First.’

«When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.»

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly met earlier this week with the Gang of Eight, and a spokesman for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital that Rubio called the speaker before the overnight strikes were carried out in Iran.

Notably, Trump has reminded the world that Iran’s regime had targeted him, including fomenting assassination talk in retaliation of his first administration’s taking out Islamic Republican Guard QUDs force commander Qasem Soleimani Jan. 3, 2020.

«I was the hunted, now I am the hunter,» Trump said on the White House lawn before the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes and amid past warnings to Iranian leaders.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, but a U.S. official told Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin that Trump’s U.S. military armada in the Middle East, working in concert with Israel, is targeting military targets and ballistic missile sites that pose an «imminent threat.»

The U.S. military is not targeting Iran’s leadership, but Israel is, the official added.

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Alerting Congress was a topic of contention during the stealth operation to extract Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, when Trump and Rubio said they did not alert the Gang of Eight in advance, fearing leaks and putting U.S. troops at risk before the operation.

The Gang of Eight consists of the four Republican and Democrat leaders of Congress and four other members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, is part of the group.

«Everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame,» Himes wrote in a statement. «As I expressed to Secretary Rubio when he briefed the Gang of Eight, military action in this region almost never ends well for the United States, and conflict with Iran can easily spiral and escalate in ways we cannot anticipate. It does not appear that Donald Trump has learned the lessons of history.

«The president’s own statement acknowledges this is war, and the Constitution requires the administration to come to Congress for authorization, something it has not done. Next week, the House will vote on a war powers resolution, and I will support that resolution. In the meantime, I will be praying for the safety of our service members and all civilians who are in harm’s way.»

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, spoke out against Trump’s Operation Epic Fury action.

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«Iran’s leadership has long supported terrorism across the region, undermined regional stability, continued to advance its nuclear ambitions and brutally repressed its own people, but acknowledging those realities does not relieve any president of the responsibility to act within the law, with a clear strategy, and with Congress,» Warner wrote in a statement.

«The American people have seen this playbook before — claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building. We owe it to our service members, and to every American family, to ensure that we are not repeating the mistakes of the past.»

Warner added a call for Trump to give the «country clear answers: What is the objective? What is the strategy to prevent escalation? And how does this make Americans safer?»

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«The president moved forward without seeking congressional authorization,» Warner’s statement concluded. «The Constitution is clear: The decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations — particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States — raises serious legal and constitutional concerns.

«Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification, a defined end state and a plan that avoids dragging the United States into yet another costly and unnecessary war.»

Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, noted Trump gave «Iran plenty of opportunities to take the diplomatic route.»

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«Prior to the initiation of this action, in earnest diplomatic engagements with Iran, President Trump was very clear about his red line from the start and his expectations of Iran during these negotiations,» Crawford wrote in a statement. «Iran absolutely cannot be allowed to maintain a nuclear weapon or capabilities. The safety and security of Americans and our allies are on the line.»

Crawford’s statement stressed concern for American forces conducting the operation versus Democrats’ concerns over Trump’s authority as commander in chief.

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«The United States of America has the most premier military in the world, and I am confident it will successfully carry out the very clearly stated goals of this operation,» Crawford wrote. «As the operations continue, we pray for the safety of the U.S. military forces involved, Americans in the region, and our allies.

«I would strongly advise the Iranian regime heed President Trump’s warning.»

Trump warned in his State of the Union earlier this week that he will hold to his longtime vow that «Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,» saying in his Truth Social video overnight to explain the strikes that Iran was attempting to reconstitute its designs on a nuclear arsenal.

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«One thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,» Trump said in the State of the Union. «Can’t let that happen.»

Senate Armed Forces Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., praised the «decisive action» against «the world’s leading proliferator of terrorism.»

«This is a pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests,» Wicker wrote in a statement. «The president has stated the operation’s goals clearly: thwart permanently the ayatollahs’ desire to create a nuclear weapon, degrade their ballistic missile force and their production capacity, and destroy their naval and terrorism capabilities.

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«These are the hardest decisions that face any American commander-in-chief, and I appreciate that President Trump and his team conducted a comprehensive strategy using all tools of national power and a well-orchestrated military planning process.»

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, echoed the long-time Trump position against «regime-change wars.»

«Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?» Kaine wrote in a statement.

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«For months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war — especially wars that aren’t authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution, and don’t have a clear objective.

«These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives,» Kaine said. «The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran.

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«Every single senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,» Kaine added.

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., echoed the call to vote on Kaine’s war powers resolution.

«Americans don’t want to go to war with Iran,» Kim wrote in a statement. «By launching strikes, President Trump has made the same dangerous and foolish decision President Bush did a generation ago. He put Americans in harm’s way without clearly showing there’s an imminent threat to our national security. He put the Iranian people in harm’s way by calling on them to rise up without a broad coalition of partners to assist in their protection. 

«And Trump once again started a cycle of violence that has already escalated and could spiral out of control,» he continued. «This is unacceptable. The Senate should vote on Senator Kaine’s War Powers Resolution immediately.

«I stand ready to do so today.»

Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind contributed to this report.