Iran's ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate in the war that began on February 28, despite the killing of top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders in US-Israeli strikes.
The Islamic Republic built a complex power structure with layered institutions buttressed by a shared commitment to the survival of the theocratic system, rather than relying on a small number of individuals.
The new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has inherited the role and its extensive formal powers, but he lacks the automatic authority enjoyed by his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in one of the first strikes of the war.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has assumed an even more central role in strategic decision-making, with a 'mosaic' organisational structure that allows them to withstand decapitation of their leadership.
Other capable, experienced political figures remain, but the more prominent ones likely to step into the shoes of assassinated individuals may be more hardline than those who have been killed.
Some of the big names left include Revolutionary Guards head Ahmad Vahidi, Qods Force chief Esmail Qaani, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Judiciary Head Ayatollah Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and former Supreme National Security chief Saeed Jalili.
