Iran could be hours away from installing a new supreme leader, with state Fars News reporting early Saturday that a successor may be selected within the next 24 hours, but there are signs of a potential factional power struggle – somewhat expected given the complex history of reform vs. hardline Islamic interpretations inside Iran. The outlet cited sources within the Assembly of Experts, which is the 88-member body of Islamic jurists elected every eight years and tasked with choosing the country’s top clerical authority. The process was “paused” this week amid the heavy bombing campaign.  There were reports earlier this week that the US-Israeli Operation Epic Fury had struck a Tehran building where the Assembly of Experts were meeting, but such battlefield claims by US and Israeli officials remain hard to ultimately verify, given the intensify of the bombardment and fog of war. The development comes as the war continues to intensify, as President Trump vows to keep hitting Iran harder. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will “never surrender” to Washington or Tel Aviv, even as he issued an apology to neighbouring Gulf states after Iranian strikes targeted locations linked to American military assets stationed in the region. And civilian sites in Gulf […]