On February 28, 2026, Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike in Tehran, with CIA intelligence reportedly used to locate senior leaders. A three-person leadership council, including President Pezeshkian, the judiciary chief, and a senior cleric, has been formed to hold power until a successor is named. Iranian retaliatory strikes continue to hit U.S. assets across the Gulf region.
The regime, however, is not eliminated. As the Council on Foreign Relations noted, taking out Khamenei is not the same as regime change. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains intact and has vowed revenge. Analysts warn that without Khamenei’s doctrine of “strategic patience,” field commanders freed from clerical restraint may respond with greater ferocity.
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