Strikes hit Qom as Israel targets Iran’s leadership council

2026-03-03 - 14:44

Shafaq News- Tehran Israeli warplans struck a building linked to Iran’s leadership council in the city of Qom during a meeting in Tehran to select a new Supreme Leader. Tasnim reported that the strikes hit a site described as associated with Iran’s top leadership structures in Qom, a key religious and political center south of Tehran. There was no immediate official confirmation from Iranian authorities on casualties or the extent of the damage. Fox News cited an unnamed Israeli official who said the target was the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body constitutionally tasked with appointing and supervising Iran’s Supreme Leader. The report said the body was convening in Tehran to discuss the selection of a successor. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Israel targeted 88 members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts in Tehran during a meeting to choose a successor to Khamenei. Under Article 111 of Iran’s constitution, a temporary leadership arrangement is activated when the position of the supreme leader becomes vacant. The current interim Leadership Council, formed after the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, consists of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Guardian Council member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. The three-member body assumes the duties of the supreme leader until the Assembly of Experts selects a successor.