Iran War

Israel Vows to Eliminate Anyone Chosen to Replace Khamenei as Iran’s Next Supreme Leader

On March 3, Israel targeted a building associated with the Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader, but it was empty at the time.
Israel Vows to Eliminate Anyone Chosen to Replace Khamenei as Iran’s Next Supreme Leader
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 20, 2026. Aggelos Nakkas/AFP via Getty Images
Victoria Friedman
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a March 4 post on X that whoever is appointed to replace deceased Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “will be an unequivocal target for elimination.”

“[Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and I have instructed the IDF to prepare and act by all means to carry out the mission as an integral part of the objectives of Operation ‘Lion’s Roar,’” Katz said, using Israel’s term for the military offensive against Iran and its proxies.

Victoria Friedman
Victoria Friedman
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Victoria Friedman is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of international stories, with a particular interest in technology, eastern Europe, and defense.