Who is the successor of Khamenei coming to light? This person graduated from Stanford University and announced to take control of the entire Iran!
After the Iranian state television confirmed the news of Khamenei's death, the first vice president of Iran, Aref, declared full control of Iran under wartime conditions. This news quickly attracted attention. The outside world speculated whether this technically inclined official, who graduated from American Stanford University and holds a doctorate in information technology, would take over Khamenei's legacy.
Dao Ge thinks that the key concept needs to be clarified first: Aref's declaration of "full control" does not equate to him being the legal successor of Khamenei. The "full control under wartime conditions" mentioned in the news is likely to refer to Iran activating some kind of emergency mechanism. In the current situation of no clear leadership, Iran needs to establish an efficient and unified command chain to deal with the crisis. As the first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref has stepped forward at this time to coordinate various departments, consolidate resources, and even obtain temporary special authorization, which is a routine operation of the administrative system to cope with the crisis, rather than a permanent transfer of power.
Aref is not traditionally from a religious clergy background. Publicly available information shows that he indeed has a solid academic background. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Tehran University, he went to the United States for further studies, and obtained a master's degree and a doctorate from Stanford University, specializing in information technology and communication. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an Iranian who could enter Stanford to pursue a doctorate was definitely one of the elites of that era.
After returning to Iran, Aref did not immediately engage in intense struggles but spent many years in academia, serving as an associate professor at Tehran University and participating in the establishment of Iran's information technology infrastructure. He was one of the early pioneers in the development of the Internet in Iran and is known as one of the "fathers of the Internet" in Iran.
Aref is usually classified as a "reformist" or "moderate." He once served as the deputy speaker of the parliament and was the first vice president during Khatami's presidency. In 2024, after Pezeshkian was elected president, Aref was reappointed as the first vice president. Dao Ge thinks that it is not impossible that the United States is secretly supporting him, but all of this will require consensus among various factions within Iran.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858424756614144/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.