Selection of new supreme leader confirmed

THE clerical body tasked with selecting Iran’s new supreme leader has reached a decision, members said yesterday, although the name has yet to be announced.

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“The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen,’ said Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, as quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency.

He said the secretariat of the body would announce the name later.

Other members confirmed the decision, with one suggesting the son of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei would take the post.

Mojtaba Khamenei has been touted as a possible successor to his father, who became the supreme leader in 1989.

The position is the highest political and religious authority in Iran and has the final say on all matters of state.