By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
Israeli and United States forces on Tuesday struck a building belonging to the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing Iran’s Supreme Leader, according to Iranian media reports.
The development comes days after Iran confirmed the death of its former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during a wave of joint US-Israeli attacks on Saturday.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that “the American-Zionist criminals attacked the Assembly of Experts building in Qom,” a city south of Tehran. The Assembly is constitutionally mandated to appoint, supervise and, if necessary, dismiss the country’s Supreme Leader.
Footage aired by local outlets showed parts of the structure heavily damaged following the strike. However, there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Another Iranian outlet, Mehr News Agency, said the facility was no longer being used for official meetings. Tasnim also reported that the Assembly’s main headquarters in Tehran had been targeted in separate strikes a day earlier.
Transition Process Underway
Iranian authorities on Sunday announced the commencement of a political transition process following Khamenei’s death.
Under the arrangement, an interim leadership council comprising the president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council, the powerful body that vets electoral candidates and reviews legislation, will oversee affairs of state until a permanent successor is chosen.
Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, is also expected to play a central role in the transition.
The interim council will govern the Islamic republic pending the selection of a new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts, as tensions continue to escalate across the region amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
