Who will succeed Khamenei?

NEW YORK, July 24 (UPI) -- Against the backdrop of political upheaval in Iran is a quiet push to determine who will succeed ailing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Civil demonstrations in opposition to the contested victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have evolved into political turmoil threatening to divide the Islamic republic.

But underneath opposition slogans lies a quiet move among political and clerical elites to decide who will replace Khamenei, who is reportedly suffering from leukemia.

The most likely successor, an article in The Nation reports, is Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who heads the judicial system of Iran.

The report states that if the political turmoil in Iran continues to escalate, a decision could be made on the fate of the supreme leader.

Shahroudi gained his reputation for his conservative ties to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and for his clerical studies under Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, father-in-law of anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr.

The Nation says that Shahroudi would bring to the office of supreme leader all of Khamenei's strong suits, but very few of his weaknesses.

The duties of the supreme leader require a delicate hand to balance political and religious obligations in the Islamic republic. With Khamenei wading into the political fray by tacitly backing Ahmadinejad, Shahroudi may be better suited for those national duties, The Nation says.