Iran Names Interim Successor To Khamenei Under 2nd Day Of Massive Bombs, Trump Demands Regime Change

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As questions hang over who will ultimately succeed Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an interim leader has been appointed to fulfill his duties. Top Shia cleric Alireza Arafi has been named to the interim Leadership Council after Supreme Leader Khamenei was confirmed killed in US-Israeli strikes, state media reported Sunday.

The ISNA news agency has described that Arafi, a member of the Guardian Council, is joining President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on the body tasked with carrying out the supreme leader’s responsibilities until the Assembly of Experts appoints a permanent successor. All of this happening as US-Israeli bombs continue to fall on Tehran and other sites for a second straight day, ‘uninterrupted’ – as President Trump pledged Saturday.

Born in 1959, 67-year-old Alireza Arafi ranks among the most powerful clerics in Iran. Before his emergency elevation, he held three key posts: director of the nationwide Islamic Seminary system, member of the Guardian Council, and member of the Assembly of Experts.

While rooted in Qom’s clerical establishment, Arafi combines traditional religious authority with seeking to carefully modernize Iran; however his appointment of course signals continuity, and he’ll be tasked with seeking to ensure regime survival – which is what this moment is all about for Tehran. Most importantly, Arafi is viewed by the IRGC and political leadership as a loyal insider who will preserve a retaliatory trajectory during wartime.

Heavy US and Israeli bombing has been observed Sunday on the Iranian capital, particularly on known government and military command centers, but that hasn’t stopped large gatherings of mourners in other parts of the country.

While there’s been evidence of local celebrations in some sectors among anti-government Iranians, Sunday footage on state TV and other international media shows loyalists in possibly the hundreds of thousands showing solidarity with the slain Ayatollah the Islamic Republic leadership.

President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the killing as “a great crime” and has declared seven days of public holidays in addition to the 40-day mourning period. Outraged and saddened Iranians were seen pouring into the streets of the capital soon after state TV finally made the announcement confirming Khamenei’s killing during the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack. Iranian authorities have alleged major war crimes, including the deaths of over 85 young girls attending school when a bomb struck.

“There will be expected ceremonies,” Pezeshkian said, while noting they will have to happen even while the bombardment continues across the country. He’s also said his country views revenge as its “legitimate right and duty” after Khamenei had been murdered by the “most wicked villains in the world.”

The president further claimed the act was a “declaration of open war on Muslims, especially Shiites, in all corners of the world.” According to NBC:

The government in Iran is under attack like never before. Today tens of thousands of regime supporters packed into Tehran’s Revolution Square to mourn the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint U.S. and Israel military operation.

They chanted “God is great!” while officials promised revenge. One said Iran would deliver “terrifying blows” to make the U.S. and Israel beg for mercy.

Iran’s interim leadership council: President Masoud Pezeshkian, member of the Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Ali Arafi, Head of Judiciary Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei

As for the day to day running of the country and immediately overseeing the military response, Ali Larijani is believed to be in the driver’s seat. Khamenei had reportedly personally tapped Larijani – a former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander and political heavyweight – to take charge in the event of the Supreme Leader’s death.

Israel has confirmed it has conducted new strikes “in the heart of Tehran” and that the “majority” or Iran’s senior military leaders – some 40 of them – were killed in the opening wave. “The Israeli Air Force continues to operate extensively in both defense and offense, with the goal of removing threats posed to the State of Israel,” the IDF said – alongside the US boasting that they have established air superiority with much of Iran’s radars and air defenses having been taken out already.

Iran has said that at least 200 of its people have been killed, but the actual figure could be much higher, and is expected to be in the coming days. The external attack could go on for weeks, given especially President Trump is now calling for full regime change, which would mean defeating and dismantling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The problem with this is that most analyst agree it would require boots on the ground. Trump says he wants to see full “freedom” in Iran as the goal of the military operation.

Trump’s ‘shock & awe’: Tehran is a densely packed modern cosmopolitan city of almost 10 million people. The wider metropolitan area has over 16 million.

Massive airstrikes on Tehran:

So far, it’s been limited to an air war, and with naval assets also firing, and no casualties on the US or Israeli sides have yet to be reported. It’s mainly America’s Gulf allies which have suffered, with Iranian ballistic missiles coming down on US bases in the region – but also strikes which have landed on hotels, buildings, and even major airports around the Gulf.

By all accounts Israel has been getting hit hard – though many analysts say Israel’s military censor is working in overdrive, preventing an avalanche of information from getting out. However, there’s still plenty of confirmation of some Iranian ballistic missile impacts:

Air alert sirens continue sounding especially across central Israel. Tel Aviv was struck overnight. Iranian state media meanwhile confirms:

IRAN FIRED FATTAH-2 HYPERSONIC MISSILES FOR FIRST TIME: FARS

This war looks to go on, even if there’s desire in the White House for it to be ‘one and done’ – as increasingly the Iranians have nothing to lose. One likely result of the unprovoked US-Israeli attack is that leadership in Tehran will only become more hardline. We detailed some of the initial Saturday blowback on the Gulf allies – but Sunday has witnessed some direct repercussions on US embassies and diplomatic compounds in the region.

The US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore has come under attack by large angry mobs, within hours after Khamenei’s death was announced. “Violent clashes between protesters and security forces in the Pakistani port city of Karachi left at least nine people killed and more than 50 others wounded on Sunday, after hundreds of demonstrators attempted to storm the U.S. Consulate, authorities said,” according to AP.

Things are also popping off outside high-secured Baghdad’s Green Zone, where Iraqis are trying to breach the US embassy, with hundreds seen rioting and even bringing bulldozing equipment to the site. The mob threw stones and clashed with Iraqi security forces, which responded with tear gas. “Their attempts had been thwarted so far, but they keep trying,” an official told AFP. Iraq is a Shia majority country with heavy loyalty to the Shia religious establishment in Iran. Baghdad’s general pro-Iran stance and influence is a legacy of the Bush Neocons, who overthrow Sunni secular Baath dictator Saddam Hussein and elevated the Shia Mullahs.