The reported death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has plunged Iran into uncertainty. But the office now under strain was first shaped by Ayatollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader, whose family history reaches back to Kintoor in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh
Iran is confronting one of the most consequential turning points in its post 1979 history following reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in coordinated United States–Israel strikes on Tehran. Iranian state television confirmed early Sunday that the 86 year old leader had died and announced a 40 day mourning period, even as retaliatory missile and drone launches signalled the risk of wider escalation.
The immediate questions are strategic. Who controls Iran’s security apparatus in the interim? How quickly can the Assembly of Experts move to appoint a successor? Will the transition reinforce the system or expose internal fault lines?
The immediate questions are strategic. Who controls Iran’s security apparatus in the interim? How quickly can the Assembly of Experts move to appoint a successor? Will the transition reinforce the system or expose internal fault lines?