A three-member interim council has been formed in Iran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed in a joint attack by the United States and Israel. According to Iranian state news agency IRNA, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei is one of the council’s members and delivered its first public message.

In his statement, Mohseni-Ejei said that the United States would never be able to undermine the determination of the great mujahideen raised within the Muslim nation through such attacks. Since the start of the US-Israel assault, Iran’s parliament, executive branch, and judiciary heads have not been seen in public and may have been among the targets of the strike.

Under Article 111 of Iran’s constitution, the president, the judiciary chief, and a jurist from the Guardian Council temporarily assume the duties of the Supreme Leader until a new one is chosen.