Who’s leading Iran? These 3 men have assumed the reins.

• A three-man council has been formed to temporarily lead Iran while a successor is chosen.
• The council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
• President Pezeshkian has vowed revenge for Khamenei’s death, calling it Iran’s “legitimate right and duty.”

The Feb. 28 killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the joint attack by U.S. and Israeli forces has left a void at the top in the Iranian regime as the embattled nation scrambles to put in place a successor.

The Islamic Republic has only replaced its supreme leader once since it came into power almost 50 years ago. Khamenei succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who was killed in 1989 without declaring an official heir.

On March 1, a three-man leadership council was formed to assume power until Khamenei’s successor is selected. Those key figures are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, and Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, head of Iran’s judiciary.

It’s unclear how long Iran’s succession plan will take to play out.

President Donald Trump said on March 2 that he expects the war to last “four to five weeks,” and denied speculation he would become bored with a long-running war. Iranian officials say they’re also ready for a drawn-out conflict.

“Iran, unlike the United States, has prepared itself for a long war,” Ali Larijani, a top national security official inside Iran, said on X on March 2, adding the nation would make its “enemies sorry for their miscalculation.”

Here’s a further look at who’s running Iran – for the time being: …