Gambiaj.com – (TEHRAN, Iran) – Iran has established a provisional leadership council to administer the country following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as regional tensions escalated sharply with fresh missile and drone attacks reported across the Middle East.
Tehran confirmed Sunday that Khamenei had been killed in strikes attributed to Israel and the United States, triggering constitutional measures for the temporary transfer of power.
Constitutional Mechanism Activated
Under Iran’s constitution, if the supreme leader is no longer able to perform his duties, a provisional leadership council composed of the president, the head of the judiciary, and a senior cleric from the powerful Guardian Council assumes authority until a successor is elected by the 88-member Assembly of Experts.
The newly formed council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and senior cleric Alireza Arafi.
Arafi, 67, is a seasoned cleric with longstanding ties to state institutions and was considered a confidant of Khamenei. He currently serves as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts and has been a member of the Guardian Council, the influential body that vets electoral candidates and reviews legislation passed by parliament.
The Assembly of Experts is constitutionally mandated to select and appoint the next supreme leader.
Calls for Revenge and “Open War”
In a statement broadcast on Iranian state media, President Pezeshkian described Khamenei’s killing as the work of “the most wicked villains in the world” and framed it as a direct assault on Muslims globally.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers bloodshed and revenge against the perpetrators and commanders of this historical crime as its duty and legitimate right and will fulfill this great responsibility and duty with all its might,” Pezeshkian said.
He further characterized the killing as a “declaration of open war on Muslims, especially Shiites, in all corners of the world.”
Iran is a majority Shiite nation, as is neighboring Iraq, while most Gulf states and Egypt are predominantly Sunni.
Senior Clerics Issue Jihad Declarations
Prominent religious authorities also escalated rhetoric in the aftermath of Khamenei’s death.
Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, 99, declared that avenging Khamenei is the “religious duty of all Muslims in the world to eradicate the evil of these criminals,” according to the state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.
Another senior cleric, Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, reportedly issued a fatwa obligating Muslims to “avenge the blood” of the slain supreme leader.
The statements signal potential mobilization across Shiite networks in the region and raise fears of broader sectarian and geopolitical confrontation.
Missile Strikes and Regional Fallout
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had launched another wave of missiles and drones targeting countries in the region.
In the United Arab Emirates, plumes of smoke were seen rising from an area near a port in Abu Dhabi after loud explosions were heard across the city. It remains unclear what struck the area, though video footage showed smoke billowing from the port zone, and residents reported aircraft overhead.
In Israel, authorities said five people were killed in a direct missile strike on a residential building near Jerusalem. Approximately 18 others were injured in the city of Beit Shemesh, according to police.
“As a result of the direct hit, severe damage and collapse of the building occurred,” Israeli police said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
The formation of Iran’s interim leadership council comes at a moment of extraordinary volatility, with constitutional succession now unfolding alongside intensifying military exchanges that threaten to draw in additional regional and global actors.
