Middle East Tension: Iran set to announce new Supreme leader

Iran said on Wednesday that it is trying to quickly appoint a new supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.

Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts the group responsible for choosing the supreme leader  said efforts are ongoing.

“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,” he said on state television.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, warned that any new Iranian leader chosen to replace Khamenei would be a target for assassination.

Khatami responded by saying the process requires secrecy because of the threats. He added that the appointment of a new supreme leader is “imminent.”

The Assembly of Experts has 88 members who are elected every eight years.

Iranian media reported that US and Israeli strikes targeted a building belonging to the Assembly in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday. The Assembly’s main headquarters in Tehran was also reportedly struck a day earlier.

Iran officially began the leadership transition on Sunday, one day after Khamenei’s death. He had led the country since 1989.

For now, President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and cleric Alireza Arafi are serving as interim leaders until a new supreme leader is appointed.