"The US and Israel attacked the building of the Assembly of Experts in Qom," Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on 3/3. Videos appearing on social media the same day showed the building severely damaged in the attack.
The Iranian Assembly of Experts, comprising 88 members, is tasked with electing, supervising, and potentially dismissing the supreme leader. According to Mehr news agency, this body no longer convenes at the building in Qom city.
The building in Qom city, Iran, was destroyed after the airstrike on 3/3. Video: X/Mehdi H.
Tasnim also stated that the Assembly of Experts complex in Tehran, formerly the headquarters of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, was also targeted by US and Israeli airstrikes overnight. Casualties and damage from these two airstrikes are currently unknown.
On the same day, US and Israeli fighter jets also attacked locations around Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran; the specific targets remain unclear. According to Iranian media, many residential homes in this area sustained significant damage.
Iranian officials announced on 1/3 that a transition process had begun after confirming the death of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
An interim leadership council has been established, comprising Iran's President, the head of the judiciary, and a jurist from the Guardian Council, which oversees the legislature and vets electoral candidates. This body will lead Iran until the next supreme leader is elected.
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Locations of some Iranian cities. Graphic: *CNN*
The US and Israel launched an airstrike campaign against Iran on 28/2, targeting intelligence and defense agencies and numerous high-ranking officials in the country. Iran subsequently retaliated by firing missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel and US bases in the region.
Iran's Red Crescent Society announced on 3/3 that 787 people had died in the country due to the conflict. At least 11 people in Israel, six US soldiers, and many others in various Middle Eastern countries also died.
Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, AP, Tasnim, Times of Israel)
