Israel Strikes Building Where Iran’s Clerics Were Choosing New Leader

Israel has carried out an airstrike on a building in the Iranian city of Qom where Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for choosing Iran’s next Supreme Leader, gathered.

According to international reports, the strike targeted the building during a sensitive period when senior clerics were expected to begin deliberations on a successor following the reported death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Assembly of Experts consists of 88 clerics and holds the constitutional authority to appoint Iran’s Supreme Leader, the most powerful position in the country.

Israeli officials said the strike was aimed at disrupting the leadership process inside Iran. However, Iranian media outlets have claimed the building had already been evacuated before the attack and that there were no confirmed casualties.

Shortly before the strike, a message from an Israeli intelligence-linked account in Persian stated:

“No matter who is chosen today, his fate is sealed. Only the Iranian people will choose their future leader.”

The strike comes amid rapidly escalating tensions in the region following reports that Iran’s long-time Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in recent U.S.–Israeli strikes, triggering uncertainty over the country’s political future.