Iran’s supreme leader has appointed a top national security official as caretaker of the regime in case of a targeted killing, reports say, as protests among students erupted in Tehran for the first time since last month’s deadly crackdown.
Under threat of assassination and strikes by the United States, Ayatollah Khamenei went into hiding and was reported to have chosen Ali Larijani, 67, to run the country as his successor.
This is not mourning. This is a war dance happening across Iran. The regime took their children, but it could not break them.
Witness the unbreakable spirit of a nation determined to be free, a people preparing for the struggle ahead.#IranMassacre pic.twitter.com/chkTrUpFHf— JokerNejad (@Jokernejad) February 20, 2026
