With Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei dead, U.S. President Donald Trump said he has a preferred successor.
On Feb. 28 in the afternoon, in a phone call with CBS, President Trump, asked whether he had a desired leader, said, "I think so," adding, "There are a few good candidates."
However, when asked who holds real power in Iran after the death of Supreme Leader Khamenei, he said, "I know exactly who it is, but I can't say."
For now, the Iranian regime has declared a showdown centered on Ali Larijani, secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council, who is known to have been entrusted by Khamenei to take responsibility in an emergency.
Iran's official No. 2 is President Masoud Pezeshkian, who outwardly serves as head of state and the executive branch, but the presidency does not automatically succeed to the position of supreme leader, who stands at the apex of the theocratic system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, above the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
Under Article 111 of Iran's constitution, in the event the supreme leader is unable to perform duties, an emergency committee composed of three people—the president, the chief justice (head of the judiciary), and an Islamic jurist who is a senior cleric from the Guardian Council—is to temporarily perform the role of the supreme leader.
However, because some or all of them may already have been killed in Israeli and U.S. attacks, it remains uncertain how Iran's interim supreme leadership will be formed.
According to CNN, targets of the Israeli and U.S. airstrikes included not only Supreme Leader Khamenei but also President Pezeshkian, Iran's armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Ali Larijani, secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Shamkhani, secretary-general of the National Defense Committee.