Iran came under unprecedented military and diplomatic pressure on Tuesday as U.S. airstrikes killed more than 800 people in the country and the offices of the Assembly of Experts responsible for selecting a successor to assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were bombed.
It would be a serious security breach if many of the 88 elderly clergy who attended the rally were found to be voting in the building in Qom. “The new leadership took another blow today, and it looks like it’s going to be pretty big,” Trump said at a White House event, though it was unclear what he was talking about.
In Tehran, a building that houses the mediation body between Iran’s parliament and the Guardian Council of Clergy and Lawyers was also attacked.
In order to stabilize the situation, the Iranian authorities’ top priority is to quickly appoint a new cleric to replace the 86-year-old Khamenei. He was assassinated along with his wife and granddaughter on Sunday.
Reports that the defense minister, who took office two days ago, was killed have not been confirmed. The offices of the Supreme National Security Council were bombed. It was unclear whether Ali Larijani, the committee’s secretary-general, was in attendance. The chaos shows that Iran’s government is struggling to function in what is shaping up to be an existential war.
Behind the scenes, a power struggle is taking place among officials over whether to adopt a more flexible approach to the West, a debate over the choice of a new supreme leader that underscores the need for political elites to make decisions.
Israeli warplanes appear to have almost complete control over Tehran and can target Iranian leaders and security officials at will. Tehran’s skyline was marked by large plumes of black smoke and fire as more residents tried to flee into the countryside.
Donald Trump has admitted that air strikes against Iran’s leadership were so effective that at least two members of the government he had designated to lead Iran were killed in the strikes. With Trump’s goals in the war changing almost daily, it’s unclear whether he wants Iran to abolish the concept of clerical rule and whether he thinks secular politicians will be more malleable. Iran’s supreme leader possesses authority unmatched by any politician and can effectively overthrow any democratic institution in the country.
Trump showed no interest in Turkish-led diplomatic efforts to restart negotiations, sending this message on Truth Social: “Their air defense, air force, navy and leadership are gone. They want to negotiate and I say it’s too late!”
Iranian officials deny they are seeking to resume talks that ended on Thursday, 24 hours after Tehran was hit with its first airstrikes. Iran had thought talks at a technical level would continue this week.
Related: Minab school bombing: How the worst mass casualty incident of Iran’s war unfolded – a visual guide
In a sign of the tragedy unfolding across Iran, thousands gathered in Minab in southern Iran for the funeral of more than 170 schoolgirls killed in bombings on Sunday. The United States has not yet taken responsibility, but the United Nations Human Rights Council has asked Washington to launch an urgent investigation into its role, including whether the United States mistook the school for an Islamic Revolutionary Guards compound.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei held a weekly press conference at a damaged school in Tehran, highlighting the damage to civilian property such as schools and hospitals.
Baghaei insisted Iran was not interested in resuming talks that collapsed last week, saying: “Now is the time to fight and defend the homeland. Anything that tries to distract us must be avoided and rejected. Deception is part of the American pattern of behavior.”
He called U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s account of the negotiations a lie. Baghayi explained that Vitkov claimed in a U.S. television interview that the United States had four demands: “A halt to the nuclear and missile programs, any kind of support for friends in the region, and an end to the Iranian navy. Of course, none of these were raised in the negotiations. These are lies they made up to justify their actions.”
Responding to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion that the U.S. acted primarily because it knew Israel was about to launch an attack that would make the U.S. a target of Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it appeared to be an Israeli problem, not a U.S. priority.
He added: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provided false information to Trump about Iran’s military defense and deterrence capabilities. The question is whether Israel deliberately miscalculated and made the United States a victim of its own interests.”
He warned European powers not to help the United States launch air strikes against Iran, saying: “This would be an act of war. Any such action against Iran will be considered complicity with the aggressor.”
Britain has said it is willing to allow the United States to use its air bases in Britain and Diego Garcia to attack Iran, as long as attacks on Iranian missile sites are part of a defensive operation to protect the Gulf states’ economies.
Tensions with Gulf allies persist as Tehran pursues its long-implied plan to sow chaos in global markets by attacking U.S. assets across the region. The move caused a collapse in relations with Gulf states and pushed oil prices to $85 a barrel.
The foreign ministry urged angry Gulf states to reflect and be patient. Defense Ministry sources said they believed Israeli Mossad operatives were operating in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, possibly with the goal of turning those countries against Iran.
In a rare acknowledgment of the diplomatic damage this strategy could cause, Yusuf, the son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, said: “I know how much my father worked to improve relations with neighbors and Muslim countries in the region and how important it was and is to him.
“It’s so painful that in order to defend ourselves, we have to attack our American bases in friendly countries. I don’t know if they understand. I hope that none of our neighboring lands are under the control of the US military.”
