TEHRAN, March 4. /TASS/. Iran’s Assembly of Experts has polled its members and is now closer to holing a vote on the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, said Ahmad Khatami, a senior member of the body.

"The experts have been polled, and we are now close to selecting a new leader of the revolution," Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

The 88-member body has the authority to appoint a new ayatollah. Under Article 111 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, in the event of the death or incapacity of the Supreme Leader, the experts must appoint a new leader as soon as possible.