Israel warns Iran’s next supreme leader would face assassination

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has warned that any successor to Iran’s supreme leader would be considered a target for assassination, following reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint US–Israeli air strikes on Tehran.

In a statement posted on X, Israel Katz said that any figure chosen to continue what he described as Iran’s campaign against Israel and its allies would face lethal consequences.

“Any leader selected by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan for Israel’s destruction, threatening the United States and the free world, will be a certain target for assassination, no matter his name or where he hides,” AFP quoted him as saying.

NDTV said that the Israeli media reported that Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, had been elected as the country’s next supreme leader by Iran’s Assembly of Experts. Iranian authorities have not publicly confirmed the appointment.

Khamenei, who had led Iran for 36 years, was reportedly killed in strikes carried out on 28 February while at his compound in Tehran. According to the reports, several members of his family were also killed in the attack, including his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. His wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, later died from injuries sustained during the bombardment.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Khamenei would be buried in the holy city of Mashhad, with a large memorial ceremony planned in Tehran. The date of the funeral has not yet been announced.

In the immediate aftermath of his death, a three-member interim leadership council assumed the responsibilities of the supreme leader. The body reportedly comprised Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and was tasked with overseeing affairs until a permanent successor was selected.

The latest developments mark a dramatic escalation in the confrontation between Israel and Iran, raising concerns of further instability across the region.