Iran chooses new supreme leader, name not revealed
March 8 (UPI) — Members of the Iranian body charged with selecting the country’s new supreme leader said a candidate has been chosen, but no name has been revealed.
Mohsen Heydari, a member of the selection body, told Iran’s state-run ISNA news agency that a decision has been made on the successor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli air strikes Feb. 28.
“The most suitable candidate, approved by the majority of the Assembly of Experts, has been determined,” Heydari said.
Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, another member of the assembly, confirmed Heydari’s statement to the state-run Fars news agency.
Israeli forces have pledged to target Khamenei’s successor, as well as anyone involved in appointing a new supreme leader.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed Sunday that Abu-al-Qasem Baba’iyan, who was appointed last week as the new head of the supreme leader’s military bureau, has been killed.
An Iranian missile strike injured five people Sunday in central Israel. One person was reported killed in an Iranian strike in Dubai on Saturday. Sunday morning strikes were also reported in Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The strikes came just one day after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a pre-recorded statement apologizing to neighboring countries targeted in Iranian strikes, and pledged to suspend such attacks, unless attacks on Iran originated from those locations.
Meanwhile, two Israeli soldiers were killed Sunday morning in Lebanon, marking the country’s first fatalities in its campaign against Iran-aligned Hezbollah.
Lebanese health minister Rakan Nasreddine said at least 394 people have been killed in the country since Israeli strikes began last week.