The Assembly of Experts in Iran has reached a majority in the selection of a new supreme leader, Reuters reported. A member of the body that must determine the successor to the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicates that it will probably be his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei. An official decision has not yet been announced, and procedural issues remain unresolved, such as whether the choice should be announced without a physical meeting of the council, BNT reports.
The Council meeting is currently impossible after Israel struck two of the body's buildings in Tehran and Qom. The Council member indicates that the new supreme leader was chosen on the recommendation of Khamenei and must be “hated by the enemy“. Meanwhile, the exchange of blows continues.
A government building in Kuwait was destroyed after Iranian drone and missile strikes killed two police officers and wounded three in an attack in the city of Muharraq, Bahrain. The United Arab Emirates also reported attacks and declared a state of war. Israel struck an oil refinery and four fuel depots in and around Tehran, as well as Iranian Revolutionary Guards commanders in a hotel in central Lebanon, killing four and wounding ten.
In this context, the Council members are afraid to gather in person to confirm the choice of a new leader. Israel has repeated its threat to try to eliminate any newly elected successor to Khamenei and has also issued warnings to the council.
US President Donald Trump has said that the possibility of talks with Iran could become meaningless if the country's leadership is eliminated. "We've eliminated their leadership many times. So the question is whether they will surrender or whether there will be someone to surrender. But militarily they are finished," he said.
Meanwhile, public discontent with the actions of Washington and Israel is growing in the US. Thousands have joined protests in Washington and New York. Participants such as Nsair Sadouin and Kahra Amanpour have called for peace and for the Iranian people to determine their own future. According to recent polls, about 60% of Americans oppose US military action in Iran.