Report states potential successors to Khamenei coming to light in discussions among Iranian officials

Several potential candidates are emerging to take over from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is currently in hiding as a result of the ongoing military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran, according to a report.

A committee of three individuals, designated by Khamenei to select his successor, has intensified its efforts in the recent days amidst continuous airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, as reported by Reuters, citing information from five informed sources.

Among the names gaining prominence are Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the Ayatollah who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2019, and Hassan Khomeini, the 53-year-old grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding figure of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, as revealed by the sources.

“Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the Supreme Leader, is designated… for representing the Supreme Leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father,” the Treasury Department said in 2019 while sanctioning him.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the nation on Iranian state television broadcast in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2025. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The sources reportedly said that no decision has been made yet, more candidates could emerge and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who is regularly kept up to date on the talks – would have the final say.

Khamenei is sheltering right now in a bunker and has suspended all electronic communications with his commanders, according to the New York Times. 

This satellite picture by Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment site at Fordow following U.S. airstrikes targeting the facility on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

He is relaying orders only through a trusted aide to protect his location amid assassination concerns. 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Beth Bailey contributed to this report.