Iran’s top leadership has maintained a defiant stance as US and Israeli airstrikes entered their third day across Tehran and other regions following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strikes, which targeted Iranian military bases, came after Khamenei and several senior commanders were killed at the start of the conflict. Iranian authorities have suspended all dialogue with the United States, while internet access across the country remains cut off for a second day.

Under Iran’s post-1979 constitutional framework, the Assembly of Experts is tasked with selecting a new Supreme Leader. President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that the council has begun this process, with an interim three-member leadership—comprising Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Guardian Council member Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi—managing state affairs. Pezeshkian urged pro-establishment supporters to gather in public despite ongoing conflict.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed severe retaliation, claiming to have launched major attacks on US and Israeli bases. Senior officials, including military chief Amir Hatami and security head Ali Larijani, pledged to defend the nation and uphold constitutional procedures for leadership succession.