Iran prepares to unveil a new supreme leader after strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as conflict with Israel and the US intensifies

Iranian authorities were preparing to announce the country’s new supreme leader on Sunday after the clerical Assembly of Experts reached a decision on the successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli air strikes that ignited a widening regional conflict.

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Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, confirmed that the decisive vote had already taken place but said the name of the new leader would be revealed later by the body’s secretariat.

The development comes just over a week after the strikes that triggered the war across parts of the Middle East.

“The vote to appoint the leader has taken place, and the leader has been chosen,” Alamolhoda said, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

Another member of the assembly suggested that the son of the late leader could emerge as the successor, though officials have yet to confirm the identity publicly.

The announcement of the Iran new supreme leader is expected to shape the next phase of the conflict as hostilities continue to escalate.

Israel has warned that its forces would not hesitate to target the incoming leader and members of the Assembly of Experts who confirmed the appointment.

Overnight operations underscored the expanding reach of the war. Israeli strikes hit fuel storage facilities in and around Tehran, igniting fires that sent thick smoke across large parts of the capital.

Warplanes also targeted a hotel in central Beirut believed to host Iranian commanders.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said they had sufficient resources to sustain drone and missile operations for up to six months.

Spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first and second-generation missiles but would soon deploy more advanced long-range weapons.

The conflict has spread beyond Iran’s borders. Saudi Arabia intercepted a wave of drones heading toward targets in Riyadh, including the diplomatic quarter.

Kuwait reported an attack on fuel tanks at its international airport, while Bahrain said a desalination plant had been damaged.

In Tehran, authorities reported significant disruption following the strikes. The chief executive of Iran’s national oil products distribution firm said five oil facilities were hit overnight, leaving four people dead.

Tehran’s governor said fuel distribution had been temporarily interrupted while repairs were under way.

A heavy haze hung over the capital as residents reported the lingering smell of burning fuel and growing anxiety. A 26-year-old teacher told AFP that living under bombardment had created constant fear.

“I don’t think anyone who hasn’t experienced war would understand it,” the teacher said.

Iran’s health ministry said at least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded since the conflict began, though the figures could not be independently verified.

In neighbouring Lebanon, the health ministry reported 294 deaths from Israeli air strikes over the past week, prompting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to warn of a looming humanitarian disaster.

United States President Donald Trump declined to rule out sending American ground troops into Iran but maintained that the war was nearing victory despite ongoing Iranian missile and drone attacks.

Trump attended the return of the bodies of six American service members killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.

Analysts warn that the appointment of the Iran new supreme leader may not immediately end the conflict.

Officials in Washington and Tel Aviv have suggested that hostilities could continue for several weeks, while Tehran has rejected suggestions that a leader acceptable to the United States should replace the late Khamenei.

China and Russia, both close partners of Iran, have largely remained on the sidelines.

Also read: US confirms six troops killed in Iran conflict

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said on Sunday that the war should “never have happened”, warning that global order could not revert to what he described as the “law of the jungle”.