Iran forms a provisional governing body following the death of Khamenei

Washington (ANTARA) — Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said on Thursday that a provisional three-person governing body had been formed to lead the country, following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, until a new leader is chosen. “A new body has been formed consisting of three people. So they will be responsible until a new leader is chosen. They are working to lay the groundwork for the election of a new leader,” Takht-Ravanchi told reporters. Earlier this week, Mohsen Qomi, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts responsible for selecting the country’s leader, said that the process of choosing a new Supreme Leader was under way. Mahmoud Rajabi, a member of the body’s presidium, said on March 4 that final information on the outcome of the selection would be announced by the secretariat of the Assembly of Experts. Meanwhile, the United States is considering military action against Iran that could last at least 100 days or until September, the Politico newspaper reported. On Wednesday (4 March), US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth again revised the timetable for a military operation against Iran to eight weeks from the previously four to five weeks. US President Donald Trump had previously set a deadline of four to five weeks to complete an attack on Iran, if necessary. CENTCOM has requested additional military intelligence officers to be stationed at its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations related to Iran, the newspaper cited internal Pentagon documents (Department of Defence of the US).