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Iran’s Supreme Religious Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in a joint attack by the United States and Israel. Following the Supreme Leader’s death, an interim committee has been formed to govern the country. According to the state news agency IRNA, the three-member committee includes the country’s President, the Head of the Judiciary, and a jurist from the Guardian Council.
This committee will temporarily assume all leadership responsibilities in Iran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (86) became the Supreme Leader of Iran in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. As the Supreme Leader, he exercised full control over Iran’s political, military, and religious institutions. He also determined the country’s domestic and foreign policies.
The position of Supreme Leader was created in Iran after the 1979 revolution and was enshrined in the constitution. This granted absolute power to a top religious leader, superseding the President and Parliament. The ‘Assembly of Experts,’ comprised of 88 clerics, formally elected this leader.