Social media buzzes with claims about Arafi’s death; no official confirmation

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi

• Reports suggest Iran's interim leader killed in airstrike
• Israel expands strikes on Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon
• Iran launches missiles at Israeli targets, vows more attacks

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Iran appeared to be facing fresh uncertainty on Monday after unconfirmed reports that newly appointed interim supreme leader Ayatollah Alireza Arafi had been killed in an airstrike, only hours after stepping into the role.

The claims, circulating widely on Reddit and other social media platforms, have not been verified by Iranian state outlets, international media organisations or foreign governments. There has been no official statement from Tehran confirming any change in leadership.

The leadership confusion comes as the Israel–Iran conflict widened sharply.

Israel launched new air strikes targeting Iran and expanded its offensive to include attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. In response, Tehran said it launched a new wave of missiles that had "opened the great gates of fire" on Israel.

Israel said it was attacking sites connected to Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah militants, one of Tehran's principal allies in the Middle East, after Hezbollah said it launched missiles and drones toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported that at least 31 people were killed and 149 injured in the strikes on Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut. Israel said it also struck senior Hezbollah militants in the operation.

Meanwhile, Israel continued air strikes inside Iran. Explosions were heard in multiple parts of Tehran, while a strike on Sanandaj city in western Kurdistan province killed at least three people, according to Iranian state media.

Iranian state media said missiles were being launched from central parts of the country towards "enemy locations".

In a statement, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said the missile wave targeted the Israeli government complex in Tel Aviv, as well as military and security centres in Haifa and areas in East Jerusalem. It warned that the attacks would expand and that air raid sirens in Israel "would never stop".