JERUSALEM / TEHRAN — Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a direct and unprecedented warning on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, stating that whoever is chosen to succeed the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be considered a “target for elimination.” The stern declaration, posted on social media platform X, comes as the five-day-old war between Israel, the United States, and Iran enters a more volatile phase, with Tehran experiencing a fresh wave of heavy bombardment at dawn.
Katz’s statement follows a targeted Israeli strike on Tuesday that hit a building associated with Iran’s Assembly of Experts—the body responsible for selecting the new Supreme Leader. “Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel… will be a target for elimination,” Katz wrote, further escalating a conflict that began with the assassination of the 86-year-old Khamenei on Saturday. US President Donald Trump, who recently suggested the operations could last several weeks or longer, noted that nearly 800 people have already been killed in Iran, including individuals he described as potential future leaders of the country.
In Tehran, loud explosions reverberated across the capital on Wednesday morning, following Israeli strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory ballistic missile launches by the Islamic Republic targeting US assets and allies in the Gulf. Iranian state television confirmed the dawn blasts, while Israeli air defences were reportedly activated to intercept incoming fire from Iran. The conflict has also spilled heavily into Lebanon, where Israeli strikes hit a residential complex in the city of Baalbeck, reportedly killing at least four people in what Israel termed a retaliatory move against Hezbollah militants. As the regional war widens, the focus on Iran’s leadership succession has turned the political transition into a high-stakes military target.
