Iran reappoints judiciary chief during Khamenei funeral proceedings

Iran has reappointed Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei as chief justice as authorities manage funeral proceedings for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. The announcement was made while crowds were preparing to gather along a designated route in the capital before the procession continued to Qom, neighbouring Iraq and then Mashhad for burial. The move underlines the leadership's effort to project continuity at a sensitive moment in the country's political transition.

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Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei confirmed the reappointment of the 69-year-old cleric for another five-year term in a text message attributed to Iran's new head of state. According to the supplied report, Mohseni-Ejei was told to remain focused on anti-corruption efforts and to pursue what was described as judicial transformation. He was also instructed to act against crimes by what the message called "arrogant powers" and "global aggressors".

The funeral procession was guarded by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and several senior figures were reported to be present. Those named in the supplied material included President Masoud Pezeshkian, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi. The report also says the remains of the former supreme leader and four family members were being accompanied after they were killed in an air strike on 28 February, the opening day of the US-Israel war on Iran.

The timing matters because the judiciary is one of the most powerful institutions in Iran's state structure and plays a central role in domestic control, political discipline and the prosecution of security cases. Reappointing its chief during a funeral linked to the country's leadership succession signals an attempt to keep key institutions aligned while the state manages both mourning and continuity. It also comes against a backdrop of heightened rhetoric about revenge and deterrence after the killing of Khamenei, according to the report.

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Mohseni-Ejei has already been publicly associated with a hard line on internal order and external confrontation. The supplied material says he told state television that he was committed to the "peaks" of success envisioned by leaders of the Islamic Republic and spoke about calls for revenge for the assassination of Khamenei. He also renewed support for the "axis of resistance", the network of regional armed groups aligned with Iran, and promised decisive action against hoarding and price gouging amid economic pressure.

What remains unclear from the report is how the reappointment will affect the wider succession process or whether further personnel changes will follow the funeral period. It is also not clear what specific judicial measures will be taken under the new term or how the authorities will respond to the broader security and economic pressures described in the announcement. The next developments to watch are the completion of the funeral route, any further statements from Mojtaba Khamenei, and whether the judiciary moves quickly on the promised crackdown.

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