War: Iran moves to select new Supreme Leader 

Iran has confirmed that efforts are underway to quickly select a new supreme leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the ongoing United States–Israeli airstrikes.

Speaking on state television on Wednesday, Ahmad Khatami, a senior cleric and member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, said the process of appointing a successor is at an advanced stage, despite the country’s ongoing wartime conditions.

“We are all trying. God willing, the new leader will be appointed as soon as possible. We are close, but the country is in a war situation,” Khatami said.

His remarks followed a warning earlier in the day by Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, who cautioned that any individual chosen to succeed Khamenei could become a target for assassination.

Responding to the threat, Khatami said the sensitive nature of the transition required strict confidentiality, stressing that the emergence of a new supreme leader was “imminent.”

The Assembly of Experts, which constitutionally holds the authority to appoint Iran’s supreme leader, is made up of 88 clerics elected for eight-year terms.

Meanwhile, Iranian media reports indicated that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tuesday hit a building linked to the Assembly of Experts in the holy city of Qom, while its main headquarters in Tehran was reportedly targeted a day earlier.

Iran initiated the leadership transition on Sunday, a day after the death of Ali Khamenei, who had ruled the country since 1989.

Pending the appointment of a new supreme leader, an interim leadership arrangement has been put in place, with Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and cleric Alireza Arafi jointly overseeing state affairs.

War: Iran moves to select new Supreme Leader