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Amid the assassination threat from Israel, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is said to be sheltering in a bunker, has reportedly named three senior clerics as the potential successors in the event of his death amid the conflict between Israel and Iran. 

According to a report by The New York Times, citing Iranian officials, Ayatollah has also begun picking the replacements for military commanders who were eliminated in Israeli strikes. The official has also added that Khamenei has even named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, as well — perhaps the most telling illustration of the precarious moment he and his three-decade rule are facing.

Khamenei, considering all the threats, took the unusual step of instructing the Assembly of Experts – the clerical body responsible for appointing the next supreme leader of Iran – to move quickly and select a successor from the three candidates that he has personally recommended. 

According to NYT, quoting Vali Nasr, a leading Iran expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University, the top priority currently is the “preservation" of the state.

Iran Expects India To Condemn Israeli Military Actions

A senior Iranian diplomat said on Friday that Iran expects India and other like-minded nations to condemn Israeli military aggression against it, as such actions are a breach of international law. 

According to news agency PTI, Mohammad Javad Hosseini, the deputy chief of mission at the Iranian embassy, also hoped that Pakistan would not do anything that will harm Iran's interest. His response on Pakistan came when asked at a media briefing about Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House on Wednesday.

There is speculation that Washington was looking at using Pakistani military bases in case it decides to launch attacks on Tehran. Hosseini also said that India is a leader of the Global South, and Iran expects New Delhi to condemn the Israeli actions of breaching international law by attacking a sovereign country.