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Israel's military warned Sunday that it would target whoever is chosen as the successor to slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as anyone involved in the selection process, in an unprecedented threat directed at Iran's Assembly of Experts as the clerical body moved closer to naming a new leader.
"After the elimination of the tyrant Khamenei, the Iranian terrorist regime is attempting to regroup and choose a new Supreme Leader," the Israeli army wrote in a statement posted on X in Farsi.
"I want to emphasize that the long arm of the State of Israel will continue to pursue the successor and anyone who tries to appoint him," the Israeli army noted.
The military issued a direct warning to members of the Assembly of Experts planning to participate in the session to choose the successor. "We will not hesitate to target you as well. Consider yourselves warned," it said.
The statement noted that the Assembly, which has not formally convened in decades, was set to meet soon in the city of Qom.
The warning came as Iranian state media reported that a majority consensus had "more or less been reached" on choosing Khamenei's successor.
Assembly of Experts member Mohammad-Mahdi Mirbagheri said "a definitive opinion has almost been achieved," though he noted "some obstacles" still needed to be resolved.
The Assembly of Experts is the 88-member clerical body authorized under Iran's constitution to choose the country's supreme leader.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 37 years, was killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike on Tehran on Feb. 28.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the late supreme leader's son, has been reported as a possible frontrunner. U.S. President Donald Trump previously dismissed him as "a lightweight" and said the United States must be involved in choosing Iran's next leader.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had earlier threatened that any leader chosen by the Iranian regime would be "an unequivocal target for elimination, no matter his name or where he hides."
The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, killing Khamenei and more than 1,000 people.
Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
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