DUBAI, March 7 (Reuters) – Two influential and hard-line Iranian clerics have called for the quick election of a new supreme leader to help guide the country as it responds to a new wave of attacks by the United States and Israel, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
The clerics’ appeal suggests that at least some among the clergy are uneasy about holding the three-member council accountable, even temporarily, in the wake of the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US President Donald Trump has said the United States should play a role in choosing a new leader, but Iran has rejected the request.
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said the appointment was needed quickly to “help better organize the country’s affairs,” state media reported, suggesting his religious ruling has a wide following.
Last week, two senior Shiite religious authorities also issued religious edicts calling on Muslims around the world to avenge Khamenei’s killing. Makarem Shirazi said it was a religious obligation for Muslims “until the evil of these criminals is eradicated from the world.”
Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nouri Khamedani also urged members of the Assembly of Experts of religious institutions responsible for selecting the new leader to speed up the process of selecting Khamenei’s successor, state media reported.
Under Iran’s constitution, a three-member council composed of the president, a senior cleric and the head of the judiciary assumes the responsibilities of the supreme leader until a decision is made by the Assembly of Experts.
The constitution stipulates that the top leader should be chosen within three months, but despite the intensification of the war, it is unclear how quickly the 88-member expert meeting can be convened. Sources said some clergy have conducted some inquiries online.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)