According to Al-Jazeera, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued a chilling warning: any cleric or figure selected as Iran’s next Supreme Leader will be targeted for assassination by Israeli forces.
The statement, posted on X late March 4, 2026, marks a dramatic escalation in Israel’s campaign to prevent the Islamic Republic from restoring stable leadership following the February assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz wrote: “Any leader chosen by the Iranian terror regime to continue its plan for Israel’s destruction, threaten the United States, the free world and countries in the region, and suppress the Iranian people, will be a certain target for assassination—no matter his name or where he hides.”
He confirmed that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had directed the IDF to treat the selection process itself as a legitimate military objective under Operation Roaring Lion.
The threat comes days after an Israeli airstrike demolished a key building in Qom housing the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical council constitutionally charged with electing, supervising, and—if necessary—removing the Supreme Leader. Iranian state media reported the structure was “completely destroyed” during what sources described as preparatory deliberations or early voting sessions, with unconfirmed casualties among senior clerics and support staff. An Israeli security official told foreign outlets the strike was deliberate, aimed at “disrupting the machinery of succession.”
Iran remains in constitutional limbo. An interim three-member council—President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and cleric Alireza Arafi—has assumed emergency powers under Article 111.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated the succession could be finalized “within days” despite the chaos, as the nation observes 40 days of official mourning for Khamenei.
Names circulating include Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son and a rumored hardline favorite, though analysts note heavy influence from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which may favor its own candidate.
The leadership vacuum has hampered Iran’s military response to ongoing Israeli and U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities, missile bases, and command centers.
Oil prices spiked again amid fears of prolonged regional war, with Hezbollah and Iraqi militias launching limited retaliatory attacks.
Experts warn Katz’s open assassination pledge could radicalize Iran’s next generation of rulers or trigger violent internal factional struggles, potentially prolonging the conflict rather than hastening regime collapse……See More
Leave a Reply