Israel carried out a strike on a council building in Qom where members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts were in the process of voting on the country’s next Supreme Leader, according to a security source.

The facility, located south of Tehran, was reportedly targeted while the 88-member clerical body was engaged in the leadership selection process. However, Channel 12 reported that the full Assembly was not inside the building at the time of the strike, noting that members had cast their ballots individually. Only a small team assigned to tally the votes was present when the attack occurred.

Earlier in the afternoon, shortly before 4:00 p.m., the IDF announced it had initiated a ninth wave of airstrikes in Tehran. Iranian reports soon followed describing blasts in the capital. State-affiliated media outlets in Iran also cited explosions in the cities of Raj, Shiraz, and Fawah.

תיעוד: בניין מועצת המומחים בעיר קום הותקף. מדובר במועצה שתפקידה היחיד הוא בחירת המנהיג העליון של איראן@OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/ZkTsoU4asL

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 3, 2026

Concurrently, the IDF’s Persian-language spokesperson, Lt. Col. (res.) Kamal Pinhasi, released a public evacuation warning directed at residents in Tehran’s “Hakimiyeh” industrial zone. “In the coming hours, the IDF will operate in the area,” the notice stated.

In a separate message posted in Persian on social media, the Mossad addressed the unfolding leadership developments in Iran, writing: “It doesn’t matter who is chosen today; his fate has been decreed. Only the Iranian nation will choose their next leader.”

مهم نیست  امروز چه کسی انتخاب میشود سرنوشت  او قلم زده شده، تنها ملت ایران راهبر آتی خود را انتخاب خواهند کرد pic.twitter.com/dwyRW6ZB4U

— Mossad Farsi (@MossadSpokesman) March 3, 2026

The clarification regarding the limited presence inside the Assembly of Experts building followed claims in Iranian media that the “American-Zionist criminals” had struck the site during the leadership vote. Video broadcast by local outlets showed extensive structural damage to the building.