Photo: ANI.
the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, which caused explosions close to the office complex of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as reported by the Iranian media which was quoted by the Associated Press. Witnesses told that the explosion happened near the highly secured complex and state television announced that it was an explosion, but it did not specify details. Security was tightened in Tehran, and the authorities quickly blocked roads with access to the area, suspended flights throughout the country, and broken mobile phones.
Reuters also reported that the 86 year old Khamenei was not at the compound during the attacks, but he was taken to a safe place outside the capital. He is yet to come out in recent days as things got much heated up with Washington. The attacks are said to have been on military bases, intelligence centres and government buildings that came against an escalating confrontation over the Iranian nuclear programme and increased American military presence in the region.
Khamenei has ruled Iran since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East. Any serious injury or death would mark only the second leadership transition since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and could become a defining moment for the Islamic Republic. According to the Iranian constitution, the supreme leader is elected and overseen by the Assembly of Experts, which is a 88 member clerical institution but the process is strictly limited by the other institutions that are loyal to the present leadership.
According to a recent report by the Council on Foreign Relations there were some figures widely being talked about as potential successors. They are Mohsen Qomi, a close adviser to Khamenei; the senior cleric and a member of the Guardian Council, Alireza Arafi the Mohsen Araki of the Assembly of Experts; the Judiciary chief, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei; the Friday prayer leader in Qom, Hashem Hosseini Bushehri. Their appearance represents a rising speculation of how Iran will be governed in the future under a military pressure never seen before.
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