TEHRAN, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's three-member interim leadership council has been formed and begun its operations, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday in a video message carried by state-run IRIB TV.
He made the announcement hours after Iran confirmed the death of the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Saturday's U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Pezeshkian said the council will continue Khamenei's path with strength, vowing that Iran's armed forces are ready to "smash" the bases of the "enemies."
Earlier in the day, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said that according to Article 111 of Iran's Constitution, in case of the country's lack of leadership, its president, judiciary chief and a jurist from the Constitutional Council will temporarily assume the leader's responsibilities.
Iran's official news agency IRNA then reported that Iran's Expediency Discernment Council has selected Alireza Arafi, a jurist from the country's Constitutional Council, as a member of the interim leadership council.
The interim leadership council also comprises Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei.
The United States and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on Saturday, killing Khamenei, Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, along with several other senior officials.
The joint attacks prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran against Israeli and U.S. targets across the Middle East. ■
