While Iran is preparing a 3-day national mourning for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, starting on the evening of March 4 local time, Israel immediately warned that all new Iranian leaders are "targets to eliminate".
NDTV reported that Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei - son of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - has been elected by the Iranian Council of Experts as his successor. This is an agency of 88 senior clerics, elected by the Iranian people every 8 years, with the task of selecting the Supreme Leader - the highest political power position in Iran.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has led Iran for 36 years, was killed in a US-Israel joint airstrike on February 28 while in his private residence. Also killed were his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Wife Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh died later due to severe injuries.
According to the announcement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mr. Khamenei will be buried in the sacred city of Mashhad. A "large-scale farewell ceremony" will be held in the capital Tehran, but the burial time has not been announced.
During the time when there is no new leader, the power of the Supreme Leader is temporarily transferred to a three-member council including Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.
Immediately after receiving information about the selection of a successor, Israeli Defense Minister - Mr. Israel Katz - declared that any leader appointed by Iranian clerics is a "clear target to eliminate".
Mr. Katz said that the Prime Minister of Israel and he have directed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare to act by all necessary measures within the framework of Operation Lion Strike.
Who the Supreme Leader is or where he is hiding is not important. We will continue to act with all our might, together with US partners, to weaken the regime's capacity and create conditions for the Iranian people to replace him," Minister Katz emphasized.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump declared that the attacks were aimed at creating conditions for the Iranian people to establish a democratic government and restore regional peace.
The process of selecting the new Supreme Leader took place in unprecedented circumstances. Imams of the Iranian Council of Experts were forced to meet online instead of gathering in the holy city of Qom, after Israel bombed the agency's building.
Qom has a deep symbolic meaning for Iran. This is the largest religious center of Shiite Islam in this country, home to the famous seminary where Mr. Ali Khamenei used to study. The city also played an important role in the Islamic Revolution of 1979 - the event that overthrew the monarchy and gave birth to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
