Israel strikes Tehran again after Khamenei killed

Tel Aviv — Israel’s military said on Sunday it launched a broad wave of strikes in the heart of Tehran after its air force carried out a large-scale operation that killed Iran’s supreme leader, raising fears of widespread instability in the Middle East. Over the past day Israel’s air force conducted strikes to open the “path to Tehran”, it added. Hours after the US and Israel said an air strike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the military campaign to overthrow the government of the Islamic Republic, Iran’s state media confirmed the 86-year-old leader had died.

Under Iran’s constitution, the supreme leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body that supervises and in theory can sack that figure. The Supreme Leader holds ultimate power in Iran, acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and deciding on the direction of foreign policy, defined largely by confrontation with the United States and Israel. An adviser to Khamenei, Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani said a temporary leadership council would be set up based on the constitution until the next leader is chosen.

Two US sources and a US official familiar with the matter said Israel and the US timed their attack on Saturday to coincide with a meeting Khamenei was holding with top aides. Insiders in Iran said the ruling establishment would immediately seek to name a successor to Khamenei to signal stability and continuity. In another blow for Iran’s leadership, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi was killed in the strikes, broadcaster Iran TV said.

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After Iran retaliated with airstrikes around the Gulf, Anwar Gargash, adviser to the president of US ally and oil power the United Arab Emirates, urged Tehran to “go back to your senses”, saying the war is not with Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbours. The UAE has so far borne the heaviest brunt of Iran’s retaliation.

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