Israel, US Strikes Hit Building Where Officials Meet To Elect New Iran Supreme Leader

Israeli and US forces carried out airstrikes on Tuesday that hit a building linked to the body responsible for choosing Iran’s next supreme leader.

The attack comes days after former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed during large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Saturday.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the Assembly of Experts building in Qom, a city south of Tehran, was targeted in the latest round of attacks.

“The American-Zionist criminals attacked the Assembly of Experts building in Qom,” the agency said.

The Assembly of Experts is the body that appoints, oversees, and, if necessary, removes Iran’s supreme leader.

Footage shared by local outlets showed heavy damage to the structure. However, there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Mehr news agency reported that the Qom building was not being used for official meetings at the time.

Tasnim also stated that the main headquarters of the Assembly of Experts in Tehran had been struck a day earlier.

Following confirmation of Khamenei’s death, Iran announced on Sunday that it had begun a transition process. As part of the plan, an interim leadership council has been set up.

The council includes the president, the head of the judiciary and a cleric from the Guardian Council, the body that reviews laws and approves election candidates.

Iran’s senior security official, Ali Larijani, is also expected to play a key role during the transition.

The interim council will run the country until a new supreme leader is officially elected.

Meanwhile, Iran carried out a drone attack on the United States Embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, leading to a small fire inside the compound.