Proof of the pudding will be in the eating, so to speak.
Khamenei may have loyal followers but they are so outgunned (literally speaking) by the IRGC elite forces who side with Ahmadi-Nejad that he is almost, I say almost, a puppet in the IRGC puppeteers hands.
At any point, A-N, who has already basically completed his palace coup, can rise and arrest both Khamenei and Rafsanjani for "corrupting Islam" and "dereliction of duty". The groundwork has been laid for this "putsch" and though the latter two may be wriggling and trying to regain some authority, they don't have any strike forces that can stand up to the IRGC.
So far it has not suited A-H and his group to remove the titular head and the major "old guard" clerics. Come November all this might change. (If we do not change everything a bit sooner, though our State Dept and the EU and MSM in both regions are heading in the direction of appeasement at present).
regards,
My point was : I don't believe a decision this major right now, is made by Ahmadinejad. (You may disagree.)
Khamenei may be replaced by Yazdi after the meeting in Nov., but Khamenei is still making these decisions now.