Direct Hit Destroys Iran Council Vote

As the Iranian leadership had gathered in Qom for an Iranian Supreme Council meeting to discuss a succession plan to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Israeli Air Force struck and leveled the building with a direct hit, reducing the building to rubble and taking out all 88 members of the Iranian body before they could select a new Supreme Leader.

As reported by the New York Post:

The Israeli air force struck a top Iranian meeting on Wednesday where Tehran’s senior clerics had gathered to select a replacement for slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to multiple reports.

The Assembly of Experts, made up of 88 members, were allegedly together in the city of Qom when an airstrike hit their building overnight, the Times of Israel reported.

The strike came just as the mullahs were counting the votes to appoint the next supreme leader, according to Fox News. . . .

It remains unclear how many members of the assembly, if any, were inside the building and casting a ballot when the building was hit. .

Viral images from Qom allegedly show the building that housed the Iranian leaders, with the structure left in complete ruins following the blast. . . . .

The strike came just as the Israeli air force deployed around 100 fighter jets to drop more than 250 bombs on a “leadership complex” in Tehran, located north of Qom.

The attack targeted Tehran’s presidential bureau, the headquarters of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and compounds used by Iran’s leadership and military, according to the IDF.

As we were going on air this morning, President Donald Trump was speaking to reporters during a meeting with German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and he was asked directly whether Israel had forced his hand in launching strikes against Iran. To which he answered no. In fact, if anything, according to the President, he may have forced theirs.

As Trump stated:

We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. If we didn’t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that . . . based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand, but Israel was ready, and we were ready.

And the target in this case, the Assembly of Experts, is a body written into the Iranian constitution, whose sole purpose is to choose, and in some cases, if necessary, to remove the Supreme Leader. When an Ayatollah dies or becomes incapacitated, this group determines who will take the reins of the Islamic Republic.

Today’s attack was a very clear message. Israel is not interested in waiting around for the Islamic regime to install a new monster. And honestly, judging by his words, neither is President Trump. This was meant to be a decapitation move to completely destabilize the regime.

We’re watching what looks increasingly like a full dismantling of the Islamic Republic’s leadership structure. The Ayatollah is dead. The council responsible for choosing his successor is reportedly gone. Interim clerics and the current president are trying to hold things together. And while no one may be officially declaring “regime change,” it’s hard to interpret this as anything else.

And so far, Iran’s retaliation efforts can mostly be described as reckless. Drone strikes targeting U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which were trying to remain neutral. Attempts to hit civilian infrastructure like Doha International Airport in Qatar.

And here’s something that may have surprised a lot of people: The Gulf states aren’t lining up behind Iran. Also, Iran isn’t even part of the Arab League, and it’s made a lot of enemies in the region over its terror financing and belligerence.

Without sounding overly dramatic, it’s hard not to feel like we’re watching history unfold in Iran. One caller compared it to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and that may not be as far off as you may think. The Islamic Republic has been in power since 1979. Nearly five decades. There’s been a cold war between the U.S. and Iran ever since, marked by proxy wars, terror attacks, American casualties, and now the growing threat of nuclear capability.

If this truly leads to the end of the current regime, it will absolutely be a generational turning point. But we’re only on Day 4 of the conflict. And even if this fully ousts the Ayatollah and hard-fisted regime, we should still be cautious. We don’t know what replaces it. Like the adage about the devil you know vs. the devil you don’t. Further, President Trump said the goal isn’t to occupy Iran. The future, ideally, would be determined by the Iranian people.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more discussion of Israel’s bombing of the Iranian council before it could appoint a new Supreme Leader. We were also joined by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell, who offered his insider perspective on the ongoing war in Iran.

Watch the full broadcast below: