Overview

• Ayatollah Khamenei has officially designated three senior clerics as his emergency successors and directed the Assembly of Experts to choose a new leader without delay.
• His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was not included on the shortlist, ending speculation of a dynastic transfer of power.
• The 86-year-old leader is based in a fortified underground bunker with all electronic communications suspended and messages routed through a trusted aide.
• Israeli airstrikes have struck Iran’s military and nuclear sites in Tehran, causing hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries according to Iranian media.
• President Trump says he will decide within two weeks whether to commit U.S. forces to support Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear capabilities.