Iran’s supreme leader crushed internal threats during more than three decades in power. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entrenched the system of rule by Shiite Muslim clerics.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has identified three high-ranking clerics as potential successors in the event of his death amid the escalating conflict with Israel. Khamenei has appointed three senior clerics as potential successors and has also outlined replacements within the military leadership,