As the Middle East watches with bated breath a major crisis unfold, a joint US-Israeli airstrike struck Iran’s Assembly of Experts building in Qom on Tuesday, damaging the body responsible for selecting the country’s next Supreme Leader, as waves of attacks continued across Iran amid an escalating regional conflict.
The strike came days after the reported killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, plunging the Islamic Republic into a wartime leadership transition.
Notably, Iran International reported on Tuesday that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was selected as his father’s successor by the country’s Assembly of Experts.
Iranian news agencies said the building in Qom, south of Tehran, was severely damaged.
The Tasnim news agency described the attack as targeting the clerical body at a critical moment, reporting that “the American-Zionist criminals attacked the Assembly of Experts building in Qom.”
Israeli officials confirmed the strike but said the outcome was still under review.
The Times of Israel quoted the Israeli Defence Forces’s spokesman, Brigedier General Effie Defrin, as saying that the air force had struck a site in Qom where senior clerics were believed to be gathering to deliberate on Khamenei’s successor.
An Israeli defence official told local media the strike coincided with a vote on the next supreme leader, though it was unclear how many members were present.
Local media also reported that none of the 88 members of the Assembly were inside at the time and that only administrative staff were present to count votes.
There was no immediate confirmation of casualties. Iran’s Mehr news agency described the building as “old” and “not used for meetings,” suggesting the main deliberations may have taken place elsewhere.
The attack on the Assembly followed a broader barrage of strikes across Iran on Tuesday.
Explosions were reported in Tehran, including near Mehrabad airport and at the headquarters of state broadcaster IRIB.
ABOUT IRAN’S ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS
The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member clerical body mandated under Iran’s constitution to appoint, supervise and, if necessary, dismiss the Supreme Leader. Composed largely of senior Islamic scholars, it holds ultimate authority in selecting the country’s highest political and religious figure.
Following confirmation of Khamenei’s death, Tehran announced the activation of a constitutional transition process.
Until the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, power was temporarily shifted to a three-member interim council comprising President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and cleric Alireza Arafi, a member of the Guardian Council selected by the Expediency Discernment Council.
This was only the second time the succession mechanism was triggered since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The previous transition occurred in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, when Khamenei was appointed in a comparatively stable environment.
US, ISRAEL INTENSIFY OFFENSIVE ON IRAN
Israeli and US forces intensified strikes across Iran on Tuesday, triggering Iranian retaliation around the Gulf and expanding the conflict to Lebanon, unsettling global markets and driving up oil prices.
Four days into the war, President Donald Trump said US forces had hit numerous Iranian naval and air targets, claiming most had been destroyed.
He said the campaign followed stalled nuclear negotiations and fears of an imminent Iranian attack.
Iranian drones targeted US diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, prompting evacuations across the region.
News agency Reuters quoted a source as saying that Israel’s planned two-week campaign was advancing faster than expected, with key Iranian leaders killed early.
With agency inputs
