Iran has appointed a close aide of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to a powerful oversight body as an interim three-man council steers the country through its most significant leadership crisis since the 1979 revolution. The move comes after Iranian authorities and foreign capitals said the 86-year-old Khamenei was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeting sites linked to Iran’s leadership and security apparatus. Under Iran’s constitution, the interim leadership council assumes the supreme leader’s duties until the Assembly of Experts selects a successor.   

State-linked media reported that senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a longtime confidant of Khamenei, has been appointed a jurist on the Guardian Council, joining President Masoud Pezeshkian and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on the interim Leadership Council. He is a trusted technocrat with experience in sensitive roles, known for his proficiency in technology and fluency in Arabic and English, and has authored numerous books and articles. 

Even as Tehran recalibrates its leadership, its promised retaliation for Khamenei’s killing is being felt across the Gulf region. Iranian officials have vowed to strike U.S. bases in the Middle East, but recent drone and missile attacks have hit multiple Gulf cities, with loud explosions reported in Dubai and Doha for a second consecutive day on Sunday. Authorities in Dubai said several drones were intercepted, with debris striking two homes and injuring two people. Damage was reported at Dubai International Airport, the Burj Al Arab hotel, and the man-made Palm Jumeirah island. Black smoke rose over Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port after missile fragments from an interception ignited a fire at one berth.

Oman, initially spared, has now been drawn into the conflict for the first time. The Oman Maritime Security Centre said a Palau-flagged oil tanker, the Skylight, was struck about five nautical miles north of Khasab Port off the Musandam Peninsula, injuring four of the 20 crew members, including 15 Indians and five Iranians. Earlier, Omani state media reported that two drones hit commercial facilities at Duqm Port, wounding a foreign worker.