A three-member interim council has assumed leadership of Iran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli airstrikes.
Iranian state media reported on Sunday that the temporary body comprises President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and a member of the Guardian Council.
The trio will oversee the country’s affairs during the transition period.
Under Iran’s constitution, the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member panel of senior clerics, is mandated to appoint a new supreme leader as swiftly as possible. The identity of a potential successor remains uncertain.
Khamenei was reported killed on Saturday during extensive strikes carried out by the United States and Israel. Iranian authorities described the attack as a major escalation in hostilities.
In a strongly worded statement, the Iranian Cabinet condemned the killing as a “great crime” and vowed that it would not go unanswered. State media also confirmed the deaths of the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a senior security adviser in the strikes.
According to official reports, at least 200 people were killed in the attacks. Among the casualties were dozens of children following a strike on a primary school in southern Iran.
The Israel Defence Forces said it had carried out further operations targeting more than 30 additional sites across western and central Iran, including air defence systems, missile launch facilities, military command centres and other regime-linked targets.
The escalating conflict has disrupted regional transport and trade. Commercial flights to and across the Middle East have been cancelled, while maritime authorities have warned vessels to steer clear of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
