Israel bombarded this Tuesday in the holy city of Qom the building that houses the Assembly of Experts of Iran, the body responsible for appointing the new supreme leader after the death of Ali Jamenei, in an attack that, according to Israeli sources, aimed to prevent the election of his successor.
According to information disseminated by Israeli media such as The Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted the building while a meeting of the 88 council members was taking place.
A senior Israeli official quoted by the press stated that the objective was clear: “We wanted to prevent them from choosing a new supreme leader.”
The Assembly of Experts is the constitutional body responsible for appointing the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Republic. According to sources, the bombing occurred when several of its members already had the ballots in hand to proceed with the voting.
However, at the time of writing this note, it is not confirmed that all 88 members were present at the moment of the attack.
Iranian media reported that the building was "razed" or "flattened" by the bombing and circulated images showing severe damage to the structure located in Rasalat Square in Qom, south of Tehran.
However, some official agencies stated that the property was not in use at the time of the impact.
Other versions, cited by Iranian channels, indicated that a prior meeting had indeed taken place to address the succession, and that several council members may have died or been injured. So far, there is no independent confirmation of casualties.
The attack occurs amid significant political uncertainty in Iran following the death of Jamenei, which took place on Saturday at the beginning of the joint offensive launched by the United States and Israel.
According to The New York Times, a committee of three members appointed by Jamenei himself had accelerated in recent months the selection of potential candidates to ensure a swift transition in the event of his passing, although the names remain classified.
This Tuesday, the Iranian advisor Ali Larijani announced the creation of a provisional leadership council comprised of the president, the head of the Judiciary, and a cleric from the Guardian Council, which will temporarily assume functions until a new supreme leader is officially appointed.
In parallel, Israel also attacked Mehrabad airport in central Tehran, which is used for domestic and diplomatic flights. The Iranian agency Mehr released images of a thick column of smoke rising above the facilities.
Previous reports also indicated that a building that previously served as the headquarters of the Iranian Parliament was hit in recent bombings.
The offensive against the Assembly of Experts represents a direct blow to the heart of the institutional mechanism that ensures the continuity of the ayatollahs' regime and marks a new escalation in the open confrontation between Israel and Iran at a time of maximum regional tension.
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