What will happen after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s passing? During this event hosted by the Iran 1400 Project, Ali Alfoneh, an author and political scientist, answered this question and presented his book “Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Demise of the Clergy and the Rise of the Revolutionary Guard Corps”. His book imagines what leadership will look like in the Islamic Republic after the passing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. It looks back at the past, detailing the process of succession before and after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, as well as towards the future, concluding that whoever Khamenei’s successor may be, he will be beholden to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In addition to the presentation of his book, this episode includes a lively Q&A session with Mr. Alfoneh. He addresses a variety of pressing points concerning the past, present, and future of Iran, from how a Raisi presidency will affect the transition of power, to the immense role of the IRGC today.
Ali Alfoneh is a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He is a political scientist by training and the originator of the theory of transformation of the Islamic Republic into a military dictatorship.
