Alireza Arafi joins interim council as US-Israeli strikes and U.S. casualties escalate
Iran has installed a three-member interim leadership council after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, naming alireza arafi as one of its members, even as huge U. S. and Israeli air strikes continue to hit Tehran and other cities and U. S. forces report casualties. The moves sharpen a rapid chain of command change amid widespread strikes, internet outages and regional military reprisals.
Alireza Arafi named to three-member leadership council
The third member of the interim council was announced on Sunday as Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a clerical member of Council. The Expediency Council was tasked with selecting the jurisprudence expert for the new council. President Masoud Pezeshkian said the new leadership council "has begun its work" after the death of Khamenei, and judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and Pezeshkian have vowed continuity while the council governs until a successor is chosen.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the broader selection process should be complete within days. The laws enacted after the 1979 Islamic Revolution give the Assembly of Experts the responsibility to select the next supreme leader.
Tehran rocked repeatedly as strikes hit multiple neighbourhoods
Huge air strikes by the United States and Israel continued to hit Tehran and other cities, and the capital was rocked numerous times on Sunday after a series of attacks hit multiple neighbourhoods. The Israeli army said military centres were among the targets. Iranian authorities largely refrained from discussing missile impacts, and internet connectivity remained almost entirely blocked for a second day as authorities limited communications.
Top commanders killed and IRGC vows revenge
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a number of top commanders were killed in Tehran at the start of the war on Saturday. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, founded after the 1979 revolution and described as a sizeable military and economic force, is expected to play a key role in the response. Mohammad Pakpour, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the IRGC less than a year ago after his predecessor was assassinated during the 12-day war with Israel, was killed on Saturday.
Also among those killed were Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Defence Council chief Ali Shamkhani; and police intelligence chief Gholam-Reza Rezaeian. The IRGC vowed revenge and launched what it called "the heaviest offensive operations in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic against occupied lands [a reference to Israel] and the bases of American terrorists. " Army chief Amir Hatami pledged to continue defending the country, and the army claimed its fighter jets completed bombing runs of US bases across the region without offering footage.
U. S. service members killed; briefings set for Congress
Three U. S. service members were killed in action and five others were seriously wounded on Sunday, the U. S. military said. President Trump said there will "likely be more" American casualties before the U. S. military operation in Iran ends; he made the remarks in a video posted hours after U. S. Central Command announced the deaths of three Americans. He said the nation grieves for those who made the ultimate sacrifice, vowed to try to prevent further casualties and warned that "America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against basically, civilization. " He added that the U. S. will not allow Iran to develop long-range missiles and nuclear weapons and called on the IRGC and Iranian military and police "to lay down your arms and receive full immunity, or face certain death. "
Congress will receive its first set of briefings on Iran on Tuesday, one White House official and one congressional official said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine will brief all House and Senate lawmakers. The Senate briefing is scheduled for 3: 30 p. m. ET and the House briefing for 5 p. m., the.
Regional disruptions, diplomacy appeals and public reactions
Flight disruptions continued across the Middle East as multiple airports remained closed amid the escalating conflict. More than 1, 500 flights that were scheduled to fly to destinations in the Middle East were canceled today, Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said. Israel's airspace has also been closed to civil aviation. Some major international carriers announced suspensions, and airports and airlines across the region reported shutdowns.
Demonstrators flocked to New York City's Times Square to show support for the U. S. and Israeli campaign against Iran, with many waving pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flags bearing the lion-and-sun emblem. Stranded passengers were visible at an Emirates Airways customer service office at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia; the scene was captured by Johannes P. Christo.
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi repeated his push for diplomacy, saying talks in Geneva made genuine progress towards an unprecedented agreement between Iran and the United States and that, although the hope was to avoid war, "war should not mean that the hope of peace is extinguished. " He said he still believes in the power of diplomacy to resolve the conflict and that the sooner talks are resumed the better it is for everyone. Yesterday he lamented that ongoing negotiations with Iran had been undermined by this weekend's attack and said both U. S. and global interests could suffer should military operations escalate.
Domestic security posture and outreach remain unsettled
Police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said his forces are prepared to fight for "public safety" as the U. S. and Israel have openly called on the Iranian people to protest in the streets in the foreseeable future with the goal of overthrowing the establishment. Security chief Ali Larijani backed the constitutional process for deciding future leadership while making outreach to countries battling incoming Iranian missiles and drones. In a post in Arabic, he said Tehran does not unclear in the provided context.
The cleric alireza arafi's appointment to the council closes an immediate succession gap while the Assembly of Experts and other constitutional mechanisms move toward selecting a long-term supreme leader.
