Iran's Expert Assembly Convenes to Select Supreme Leader to Succeed Ali Khamenei
Iran’s National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani confirmed that the Expert Assembly will convene on Sunday to begin the process of selecting a new Supreme Leader for Iran to replace Ali Khamenei, who has died.
“According to Article 111 of Iran’s Constitution, in the event of the death of the Supreme Leader, the Expert Assembly must select a new Supreme Leader as quickly as possible,” Larijani stated, as broadcast by Iran’s national television.
“The Expert Assembly will convene today and the process will commence,” he added.
On Saturday morning, the United States and Israel launched a series of attacks against Iran, including the capital Tehran, resulting in infrastructure damage and civilian casualties. Iran subsequently launched retaliatory missile strikes against Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.
On Sunday, Iran’s national television confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had died as a result of the US-Israeli missile attacks.
Regarding the retaliatory strikes, Larijani assured that Iran does not intend to attack neighbouring countries in the Middle East, but that Tehran aimed only to strike US military bases, which are not located within the territories of those nations.
The Expert Assembly, a constitutionally mandated body, plays a crucial institutional role in Iran’s succession process. Israeli media reported that the country’s air force killed 30 senior Iranian officials in the opening attack on Tehran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Millions of Iranians took to the streets in Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad to condemn the US-Israeli attacks that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Indonesian Council of Scholars (MUI) has urged the Indonesian government to withdraw from the Board of Peace following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed regret over the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, noting that the attacks undermine nuclear negotiations.