A crucial question is: Who will be Iran's new Supreme Leader? Iran's 88-member Assembly of Experts is obligated to select a candidate as quickly as possible. There are several candidates, and I have one in mind. However, I want to make it clear: I cannot guarantee that he will be elected. It is possible that someone else will be chosen.
The person I suspect could become the new Supreme Leader of Iran is Mohammad Mahdi Mirbagheri. My reasoning: Given Iran's serious situation and Israel's huge provocations, the Assembly of Experts will decide to select the most radical of all. And the most radical of all candidates is Mohammad Mahdi. He is even more radical than Ali Khamenei was. Another reason is that he is an Ayatollah (high-ranking Shiite cleric) and a Sayyid (descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). He is one of very few candidates to hold both titles.
As already emphasized, he is very radical in his views. He is the "theorist of the apocalypse." An ultra-hardline cleric willing to sacrifice much to fulfill Shiite eschatology. A war against Israel and America, even against the entire world, is a divine necessity for him, even if half of humanity were to perish. If he were elected, the current war would undoubtedly escalate to new dimensions.
But what's also very interesting about this candidate is his name. He's called Mohammad Mahdi. He's named after the apocalyptic figure spoken of by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Mahdi is said to come from Khorasan (which encompasses Iran and Central Asia), revive the Caliphate, attack Israel, and annihilate the people of Israel.
