Iran Forms an Interim Government

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, on Thursday, 5 March 2026, said that a three-member interim government body had been formed to lead the country. The move follows the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with a new leader yet to be chosen. ‘A new body has been formed consisting of three people. They will be responsible until a new leader is elected. They are working to prepare the groundwork for the selection of a new leader,’ Takht-Ravanchi told reporters. Earlier in the week, Mohsen Qomi, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts tasked with choosing the nation’s leader, said that the process of selecting a new Supreme Leader was under way. Mahmoud Rajabi, a member of the body’s presidium, said on 4 March that the final information regarding the outcome of the selection would be announced by the Assembly of Experts’ secretariat. Meanwhile, the United States is weighing a military operation against Iran that could last at least 100 days or until September, the newspaper Politico reported. On Wednesday 4 March 2026, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth again revised the timetable for a military operation against Iran to eight weeks from the previous four to five weeks. Former US President Donald Trump had previously set a deadline of four to five weeks to complete an attack on Iran, if necessary. Central Command (CENTCOM) has requested additional military intelligence officers at its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations related to Iran, the newspaper said, citing internal Pentagon documents.