Iran’s Guardian Council announced on Sunday that it selected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to join a three-person temporary leadership council formed to run the country following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Arafi is to serve alongside President Mahmoud Pezeshkian and the head of the judiciary.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that strikes on Iran killed 40 Iranian commanders. The IDF statement named among the dead the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said seven members of Iran’s top security leadership were killed, and claimed the losses included a majority of the nation’s highest-ranking senior military officials.
Bahrain’s National Communication Center reported another wave of “Iranian ballistic missiles and drones” Sunday morning. Bahraini authorities said air defense systems responded with “high efficiency and full operational readiness,” and reported only limited debris in several areas. The statement did not specify the number of incoming weapons; Bahraini officials had said Saturday night they intercepted 45 missiles and nine drones.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement mourning Khamenei after what it described as his killing in a U.S.-Israeli attack on Tehran on Saturday. The statement called him “an inspiring legend in the history of Iran and Islam,” praised his piety and resistance to foreign domination, and said he died “at the hands of the most corrupt and criminal individuals on earth” and “will remain a living nightmare for his killers forever.”
The developments underscore mounting tensions across the region as leadership and military repercussions continue to unfold.