Israel Bombs Iran's Assembly of Experts While They Were Counting Votes for a New Supreme Leader
By Rusty WeissIsraeli airstrikes on Tuesday targeted the Assembly of Experts building in Qom, Iran, as the clerical body constitutionally tasked with selecting a successor to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei convened. Khamenei was eliminated during the opening salvo of Operation Epic Fury, a U.S.-Israeli military campaign, over the weekend.
The timing of the new strikes was impeccable. An Israeli defense official reported that the military hit the site precisely as members convened to count votes and deliberate on a new leader.
"We wanted to prevent them from picking a new supreme leader," the official said, according to Axios.
Mission accomplished.
Reports suggest the facility suffered severe damage, but there are no indications yet of any potential casualties among the regime's key religious-political figures.
The 88-member council, if they're still standing, now faces even greater disruption amid the ongoing war.
.@TreyYingst reports that Israel "just struck" the "gathering where the Iranians were meeting to choose a new supreme leader." pic.twitter.com/4WLjnM5oIQ
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 3, 2026
It appears the JV team had gathered to select a new Supreme Leader when they were immediately leveled. Who's next on the bench for Iran?
Fox News' Trey Yingst reported on the strike, noting the targeting of the Assembly of Experts "speaks to the Israeli intelligence about this war."
"They just targeted the meeting in Tehran where what's left of the leadership was gathering to choose a new Supreme Leader," Yingst said.
Video footage from Iranian state media circulating on social media shows extensive damage to the multi-story structure. Only a smoldering shell remains. Crowds gathered on the nearby streets while smoke filled the air around what appears to be, at best, half the remaining building. Debris is strewn about below.
Israel struck a building used by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for choosing the next supreme leader. pic.twitter.com/Z79l8WiKqD
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 3, 2026
It is unclear how Iran can move forward with the selection process for a new Supreme Leader if its entire Assembly of Experts has been neutralized.
The United States and Israel already delivered a devastating blow to the Iranian regime with the opening round of attacks, eliminating approximately 49 of its most senior leaders—including Khamenei.
The strikes have left Tehran's military command fractured, leaderless, and reeling. Will anyone from the old guard even be left to take part in a transition?
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