BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. A nationwide ceremony will be held in Iran today for citizens to pledge allegiance to the country’s new Supreme Leader, Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Trend reports.
The Islamic Propagation Coordination Council (IPCC) announced that the event will take place across the country at 15:00 (GMT+4).
In its statement, the council invited all Iranian citizens to participate in the gatherings, which will be organized in cities throughout the country.
On March 8, Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s 3rd Supreme Leader by majority vote. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was killed along with members of his family during military airstrikes carried out by the United States and Israel on February 28.
Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East.
The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive.
In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family.
Additionally, several of Iran’s most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
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