Cecilia Lei

President Trump also rallied Iranians who have protested in large numbers against the regime to take it upon themselves to push for longer-term changes.

Yesterday, Iran formed a provisional leadership council to head the country after Khamenei's death.

But an eventual long-term successor would be determined by an elected body of senior clerics, a task that has only been carried out once since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

The New York Times reported that Khamenei, who was 86 years old, had already delegated many responsibilities to the country's top national security official.

According to CNN, Khamenei did not have a declared heir.

The extent to which the strikes will lead to meaningful, long-lasting change in Iran remains to be seen.

President Trump said Sunday he is open to new negotiations with Iran, telling The Atlantic, quote, Meanwhile, it appears conflict in the region has begun to expand.

Israel announced it carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, breaking a ceasefire with Lebanon that started in late 2024.

Hezbollah said in a statement it launched attacks in northern Israel early Monday in retaliation for Khamenei's killing.

Khamenei was a key supporter of Hezbollah.

Shortly before the attack on Iran, top congressional Democrats and Republicans, a group known as the Gang of Eight, were reportedly notified by the White House that a strike was imminent.

Democrats and a handful of Republicans have since raised alarms over what could end up being a broader war that is carried out without congressional approval.

The House and Senate were already set to vote in the coming days on whether to halt further military action in Iran.

Democrats like Representative Ro Khanna of California expressed frustration that the strikes took place before those planned votes and with Congress out of session.

He called it a, quote, slap in the face.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration will reportedly hold briefings for the House and Senate on Iran.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN yesterday that he hadn't seen evidence that justified strikes like the ones carried out over the weekend.

Warner called on the president to come before Congress and request a declaration of war.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Ted Cruz told CBS's Face the Nation that he had encouraged Trump to take this opportunity because, quote, the Iranian regime has never been weaker.

Though he also said he hadn't seen indications that the country was close to having nuclear weapons capabilities.