Iran has chosen a new supreme leader following a meeting of its Assembly of Experts, a senior official confirmed. Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the panel, told state media that a leader had been selected, though he did not reveal the name.
The development comes as the war between Iran, the US, and Israel enters its ninth day. Iran’s previous leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli strike last Saturday.
Tensions and secrecy
The Assembly of Experts reportedly disagrees on when to announce the new leader. Some members believe it can be announced immediately, while others say another session is needed before making it public.
The Israeli military has warned that it will pursue anyone attempting to appoint Khamenei’s successor. In a post on X in Farsi, it stated that it would target all individuals involved in selecting a new leader.
Escalating strikes in the region
Meanwhile, the conflict continues across the Gulf and neighbouring countries. Israel struck southern Lebanon, Beirut, and oil storage facilities in Tehran. Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be “many surprises” in the next phase of the war.
Iran also targeted a desalination plant in Bahrain. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a US airstrike had damaged an Iranian desalination plant on Qeshm Island, warning that the US had set a precedent by doing so.
An Israeli attack on oil storage sites in Tehran produced pillars of fire visible against the night sky, marking the first known strike on a civil industrial facility in the conflict.
The war, which began on 28 February after joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has so far killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, over 300 in Lebanon, and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials.
