Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reached a majority consensus on a new Supreme Leader even as Israel warned it will target the successor to late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to a report from the Tehran-based Mehr News Agency (MNA), Assembly of Experts member Mirbaqeri stated that a “majority consensus over Khamenei’s successor has been reached.”
However, he added, the process of transition is not yet fully complete as “some obstacles regarding the process need to be resolved.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28 when they began attacking Iran. With Khamenei’s killing and a war raging, Iran was forced to choose a new Supreme Leader at the earliest.
The US-Iran war has already escalated into a larger Middle East conflict after Iran targeted Israel and US bases in several Gulf countries.
Netanyahu says attack on Iran to continue with ‘full force’
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a live broadcast statement that Israel’s attack on Iran will continue with “full force and uncompromising momentum.”
Israel has a well-prepared plan with many surprises to undermine the “Iranian regime” and “enable change,” Netanyahu said on Saturday.
Addressing the Iranian people, he said, “The moment of truth is approaching. We do not seek to divide Iran, but to liberate it and live with it in peace.”
He condemned the United Nations for “condemning us without reason in our just war against Iran’s murderous proxies in Gaza and doing nothing about the massacre in Iran.”
He also demanded that the Lebanese government enforce the ceasefire agreement and disarm Hezbollah, Xinhua news agency reported.
“If you do not do this, Hezbollah’s aggression will have disastrous consequences for Lebanon,” he warned.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said the United States had severely weakened Iran’s military after a week of fighting, while signalling that Washington holds strong negotiating leverage but is not actively pursuing a settlement with Tehran.