{"id":151432,"date":"2026-03-03T19:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T19:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/151432\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T19:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T19:35:09","slug":"israel-bombs-irans-top-mullahs-as-they-count-votes-for-next-supreme-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/151432\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel bombs Iran’s top mullahs as they count votes for next supreme leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Israeli Air Force\u00a0struck a top Iranian meeting<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday where Tehran\u2019s senior clerics had gathered to select a replacement for slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, according to multiple reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Assembly of Experts, a body made up of 88 members, were allegedly together in the city of Qom when an airstrike hit their building overnight,\u00a0the Times of Israel reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The strike came just as the mullahs were counting the votes to appoint the next supreme leader,\u00a0according to Fox News.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Follow live updates on the US and Israel\u2019s war with Iran<\/a><\/p>\n

The Islamic Republic\u2019s Assembly of Experts building in Qom was attacked on March 3, 2026. X\/omiddana19<\/p>\n

The Israeli Air Force launched the attack during a meeting of senior clerics to vote for Ali Khamenei\u2019s replacement as Supreme Leader. X\/etelaf10<\/p>\n

Following the attack, Iran\u2019s semi-official Mehr News Agency claimed that the building was an old structure that was no longer used by the assembly for its meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It remains unclear how many members of the assembly, if any, were inside the building and casting a ballot when the building was hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Viral images from Qom allegedly show the building that housed the Iranian leaders, with the structure left in complete ruins following the blast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bombing ultimately left the building \u201cflattened,\u201d but no injuries or deaths have yet been reported as a result of the strike,\u00a0The Jerusalem Post reported.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s leadership was plunged into chaos\u00a0following Khamenei\u2019s death<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday, with the country\u2019s constitution tasking the Assembly of Experts to name a new successor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(From left) Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje\u2019i, the head of the judiciary, and Alireza Arafi, deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, attend a meeting of the interim leadership council of Iran in an unknown location, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, on Sunday. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

While there is no strict deadline for a successor to be chosen, the Iranian constitution dictates that the assembly act in the shortest time possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The assembly said that choosing a successor for Khamenei \u201cwon\u2019t take long,\u201d according to Iran\u2019s ISNA news agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s coverage of the United States\u2019 airstrikes on Iran:<\/p>\n

The clerical body, however, could opt to delay naming a successor out of fears that he will be immediately targeted by the US and Israel, officials told Reuters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Assembly of Experts, itself, is made up of publicly elected clerics who have been vetted by Iran\u2019s Guardian Council.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A billboard of Iran\u2019s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Until the assembly can hold an election, Iran will be run by a temporary\u00a0three-man council<\/a>\u00a0composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who serves as the Guardian Council\u2019s representative.<\/p>\n

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, and\u00a0 Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the parliament speaker who has capped speeches off with chants of \u201cDeath to America, are believed to be among the favorites to succeed Khamenei.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The strike came just as the Israeli Air Force deployed around 100 fighter jets to drop more than 250 bombs on a \u201cleadership complex\u201d in Tehran, located north of Qom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran on March 3, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The attack targeted Tehran\u2019s presidential bureau, the headquarters of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, and compounds used by Iran\u2019s leadership and military, according to the IDF.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leadership complex of the terror regime is one of the most secured assets in Iran and spans many streets in the heart of Tehran,\u201d the IDF said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leadership and security officials of the terror regime convened in the compound frequently, and from there conducted, among other things, situation assessments regarding the Iranian nuclear program and the advancement of the plan to destroy the State of Israel,\u201d the Israeli military added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with Khamenei, US officials estimate that at least 47 other Iranian leaders were killed during the first 48 hours of the war.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Israeli Air Force\u00a0struck a top Iranian meeting\u00a0on Wednesday where Tehran\u2019s senior clerics had gathered to select a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[43526,14670,60,9,11,10,1076],"class_list":["post-151432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-ayatollah-khamenei","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}