According to the six senior officials and the Guards members, Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a series of directives. He has named four layers of succession for each of the military command and government roles that he personally appoints. He has also told everyone in leadership roles to name up to four replacements and has delegated responsibilities to a tight circle of confidants to make decisions in case communications with him are disrupted or he is killed.
While in hiding last June during 12 days of war with Israel, Ayatollah Khamenei named three candidates who could succeed him. They have never been publicly identified. But Mr. Larijani is almost certainly not among them because he is not a senior Shiite cleric — a fundamental qualification for any successor.
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Iran is operating on the basis that U.S. military strikes are inevitable and imminent, even as both sides continue to engage diplomatically and negotiate on a nuclear deal, the six officials and three Guards members said. They said Iran had placed all of its armed forces on the highest state of alert and was preparing to resist fiercely.
The country is positioning ballistic missile launchers along its western border with Iraq — close enough to strike Israel — and along its southern shores on the Persian Gulf, within range of American military bases and other targets in the region, the three Guards members and four senior officials said.
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Original URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/world/middleeast/iran-larijani-khamenei-pezeshkian.html