[HN Gopher] Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is killed in Israeli s...
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Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is killed in Israeli strike, ending
36-year rule
Author : andsoitis
Score : 142 points
Date : 2026-02-28 22:16 UTC (44 minutes ago)
(HTM) web link (www.npr.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.npr.org)
| programmertote wrote:
| Either this will end in a fractured state with different factions
| OR another Ayatollah will be in charge. Just my guess from seeing
| similar stories play out in other countries though....
| adamiscool8 wrote:
| Even as we speak, Ayatollah Razmara and his cadre of fanatics
| are consolidating their power!
| bombcar wrote:
| It's Ayatollah Rubio.
| indubioprorubik wrote:
| Maybe .. the revolutionary guard is fed up though with
| ineffective empire rule? Like to be rubbed in the dirt face
| first repeatetly as inheritor of the mighty persian empire
| sucks bad enough, to reconsider the way things are run?
| Sorry, but whatever israel & the us are doing, seems to work
| way better than - whatever has happened the last decades in
| iran?
| jcranmer wrote:
| As I understand it, the IGRC doesn't particularly rub
| happily with the clerical council, and it's not entirely
| clear to me who will win that the power struggle.
|
| But the ultimate loser of the power struggle is clear: the
| Iranian populace at large, as all of the viable factions
| are quite committed to consolidating their power by
| repressing the population. The most likely situation, I
| think, looks a lot like Libya.
| Drunk_Engineer wrote:
| For those who don't get the joke:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpEF6QPSVJE
| quitspamming wrote:
| Replying authoritatively to a Simpsons quote betrays you.
| ReptileMan wrote:
| Even as we speak Israeli missiles are target at him.
| XorNot wrote:
| "Mission Accomplished"
| mkoubaa wrote:
| We have such short memories don't we
| hnthrowaway0315 wrote:
| I think maybe the reformists are able to hold on now that the
| IRGC is being hammered. There might be more internal bloodshed
| but chances are that Iran might be a bit more open and more
| modern. Of course I have zero knowledge about how Iran politics
| works, so that was just a guess, not even an intelligent one.
|
| BTW I don't actually think even the reformists will "accept
| Western ideas".
| 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
| Best of luck to the people of Iran. Be safe! I'm praying for the
| best!
| ukblewis wrote:
| Time for the Iranians to overthrow the Islamic Regime and bring
| in Prince Reza Pahlavi as transitional leader, as so many
| Iranians died to make their wish of him being the leader clear,
| is fast approaching.
| brap wrote:
| Good riddance
| vkou wrote:
| You shouldn't celebrate the killings of heads of state, that
| would set a bad precedent.
| ReptileMan wrote:
| Quite the opposite - if they know they are risking their
| lives they would be more reasonable.
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| If more dictators fear for their lives: good.
| 4ndrewl wrote:
| In a FIFA World Peace Cup year as well. Is nothing sacred?
| le-mark wrote:
| Netanyahu is leading Trump around by the nose apparently. And
| here we all thought Putin owned Trump. How the wheel turns.
| abraxas wrote:
| Those are not mutually exclusive. He is still Putin's bitch as
| well as Netanyahu's.
| mingus88 wrote:
| Trump appears to be for lease.
| amarant wrote:
| Nobody owns trump, you can't buy him.
|
| Trump is for _rent_. Shutting down a competitor is 25M, "full
| service" is apparently ~100M. I'm not privy to what invading an
| oil nation costs, but I reckon it's akin to a hand job, so a
| nice golden wristwatch should probably do it?
| thomassmith65 wrote:
| The Iranian diaspora around the world is celebrating. Here's the
| scene in Berlin:
|
| https://youtu.be/NSbx_0mtk80?si=MJ_Bfvx8gVd1P1mm
|
| They've waited a very long time for this moment!
| paganel wrote:
| What moment would that be? Begging for the Americans to bomb
| their former country?
| Almondsetat wrote:
| At some point you have to decide: if my country is held back
| by a brutal dictatorial regime where civilians can't hope to
| topple it, is there anything else to do other than get
| external help?
| jachee wrote:
| As an American, I'm _really_ starting to feel that way.
| eclipseo76 wrote:
| Really... In a thread about Iran... This is not
| comparable at all and so insulting for what they have
| endured since 1979.
| quitspamming wrote:
| Except midterm elections are literally this year. But
| other than that small detail, sure.
| aaa_aaa wrote:
| This was never about Iranian people. This is all about war
| mongers, puppets and idiots who believe them.
| smt88 wrote:
| Those may be the motivations, but the outcome (so far) is
| still something Iranians are optimistic about
| blowsand wrote:
| Defend your thesis.
| anonymous908213 wrote:
| Venezuela.
| 982307932084 wrote:
| The genocidal regime is counting on retards like you.
| 4ndrewl wrote:
| Maybe speak to some Libyans. Or Iraqis. Or Syrians?
| UltraSane wrote:
| Short term pain for long term gain.
| breakyerself wrote:
| Trump isn't there to help. He wants the oil and he wants a
| puppet dictator. He doesn't care about the people.
| vasco wrote:
| Which Arab countries are better after US intervention? The
| last place that had a dictator is now ruled by ISIS.
| oytis wrote:
| Iran is not an Arab country? Answering a more general
| question - all countries of former Yugoslavia are better
| after US intervention. Some Serbs would not agree, but
| it's on them
| thomassmith65 wrote:
| Yes.
|
| 10 million Iranians live outside Iran. They want a normal
| country again.
|
| Later today, I'm sure footage from LA, Toronto, London,
| Stockholm will be up.
| breakyerself wrote:
| They're not going to have a normal country. The United
| States under Trump isn't interested in a democratic Iran.
| They want a dictator they can control.
| pinkmuffinere wrote:
| I think you're right that it would be a puppet state
| under trump. But in three years it will be a puppet state
| under somebody else! And maybe that somebody would
| relinquish the strings.
| Thlom wrote:
| Haha.
| aaa_aaa wrote:
| Are they cheering killing of dozens of school children as well?
| thomassmith65 wrote:
| No, obviously.
|
| Actually, they will probably assume the IRGC killed them to
| blame the West. I don't believe that, but the Iranians can't
| stand the regime.
| aaa_aaa wrote:
| When numbers hit tens of thousands maybe they will.
| idiotsecant wrote:
| Sometimes when you're making a media distraction campaign you
| gotta burn a few dozen children alive. I'm sure they would
| understand once they understand that this will buy _two
| entire weeks_ of eyeballs!
|
| Surely there could never be any unintended consequences from
| this! If history of conflict in the middle east has taught us
| anything it's that the power vacuum this bought will be
| filled with something much better and more enlightened.
| pinkmuffinere wrote:
| Nobody is happy about killing civilians. But Khamenei did
| more than that every day he was alive. Personally I feel
| there is some amount of immediate civilian casualty that is
| worth putting a stop to continuous suffering.
| kubb wrote:
| I have no doubt that they didn't like that the regime, which is
| why they left.
|
| But this assassination is no guarantee of change for the
| better. Far from it.
| pinkmuffinere wrote:
| It's no guarantee, but it is a good opportunity. I'm half-
| Persian, and certainly not as closely connected as others,
| but it's hard to see this as a bad thing. There's a
| possibility I can go visit my family in Iran as a result of
| this. I haven't had a good chance for that in like 4 years
| kubb wrote:
| I would defer the celebration until you can.
| thomassmith65 wrote:
| They're not brain-damaged. They know that!
| oytis wrote:
| It's not a given - e.g. AFAIK most turks in Germany support
| Erdogan
| baxtr wrote:
| Not only outside the country, but also inside the country! Many
| many videos on social media showing how they celebrate.
| xannabxlle wrote:
| Thanks for the link to US State Department propoganda. Are you
| part of Unit 8200?
| Taek wrote:
| Account is 17 days old.
|
| We have probably entered an era of the Internet where new
| account signups need some sort of validation. An invite from
| a user with >500 karma? $10? Strong KYC? Or perhaps one of
| multiple such methods to be more inclusive?
|
| We all know there's propaganda accounts on this site (and all
| over the internet). Is this one of them? I have no idea! But
| the fact that I have no idea makes it harder to enjoy HN and
| be confident in the things I am reading.
|
| The time for changing user signup flows is probably nearby.
| tejohnso wrote:
| There would likely be millions of Americans celebrating the
| murder of their current president, should that happen. It
| doesn't mean it's reasonable, right, just, or civilized, nor
| would it indicate that it was a unanimously supported action.
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| But in the case of an actual dictator who murdered thousands
| of protestors it is reasonable, right, just, and civilized.
|
| Shed no tears for the deaths of tyrants. They would happily
| see you and any other threat to their illegitimate power put
| six feet under.
| LastTrain wrote:
| Yes our president has only needlessly murdered two innocent
| US citizens so far. As he has told us countless times, he
| would like to be a dictator.
| IshKebab wrote:
| There's quite a difference between saying you would like
| to be a dictator and actually being one.
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| Trump would very much like to be, no denying that, but he
| isn't there yet.
|
| Regardless, dictators deserve to be put into the ground
| no matter where they are.
| thisislife2 wrote:
| Exactly. This is just western media trying to project some
| morality to what was an internationally illegal act ... (and
| perhaps some in the media hoping against hope this publicity
| would please the dear, glorious leaders of Israel and the US
| to end the war).
| flyinglizard wrote:
| International law being thrown around a lot. Seems like
| everyone is an int'l law expert, even though it's quite an
| exotic speciality.
|
| So please go ahead and tell me, where does International
| Law prohibit a state that's at war with another to
| assassinate its head of state?
| sssilver wrote:
| Preventive war (attacking to neutralize a future, non-
| imminent threat) is considered illegal under modern
| international law. The UN Charter restricts the use of
| force to UN Security Council authorization or self-
| defense against an actual, imminent armed attack, making
| preventive actions, which target potential future
| dangers, unlawful.
| UltraSane wrote:
| International Law doesn't really exist.
| bambax wrote:
| Not just Americans.
| worldsavior wrote:
| There aren't millions. Maybe thousands which are completely
| insane considering Trump didn't kill any US citizen, unlike
| Haminayi killing 50k of his own people.
| ashivkum wrote:
| Your worldview is not an appropriate substitute for
| objective reality :)
| nicbou wrote:
| I can hear them from my window. They're really happy. Lots of
| honking, revving engines and shouting near Zoo.
| paxys wrote:
| Easy to celebrate from a few thousand miles away.
|
| I'm not saying the Ayatollah wasn't a vile criminal, but it's
| always innocents on the ground who face the brunt of war.
|
| I hope the citizens of Iran can have a peaceful transition and
| chart a better path for their country, but every single one of
| America's previous forced regime changes in the region (and
| across the world) has shown otherwise.
| wesammikhail wrote:
| Honeeeeeeeeey get in here, the board of peace officially declared
| its first war!
|
| Bring the popcorn with you. No need for salt cause everyone got
| that in spades on both sides.
| monero-xmr wrote:
| Hopefully Cuba is next!
| alchemism wrote:
| Long live the Yankee Empire. The world will learn to lick its
| boots.
| brap wrote:
| This but unironically
| 982307932084 wrote:
| Hope your favorite dictator is next, comrade.
| cess11 wrote:
| I'd rather wait until it is confirmed.
| hirpslop wrote:
| This may or may not lead to a weaker Iran. From FP: "Iran is
| frequently portrayed as a political order bound tightly to
| individuals. Yet the architecture that emerged after 1979 was
| formed by a different logic, one founded in the revolutionary
| experience itself. Khomeini captured this hierarchy in a remark
| (https://abdimedia.net/en/ruhollah-khomeini/system-ahead-life...)
| often cited within Iran's political elite: "Preserving the
| Islamic Republic is more important than preserving any
| individual, even if that individual were the Imam of the Age"--a
| reference to Shiism's 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. It is still
| unclear whether the system will always follow this principle. But
| one should expect a change in leadership in Tehran to be treated
| less as an ending and more as a chance for the country's
| institutions to show they can survive."
|
| https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/28/iran-khamenei-ayatollah...
| joshkojoras wrote:
| It was about time. I hope the opposition in Iran takes charge and
| gets into power before they find another religious leader.
| FilosofumRex wrote:
| there is no opposition in Iran, they're mostly in DC and Tel
| Aviv...
| omnee wrote:
| In isolation the death of this brutal dictator is great news, but
| we have seen how previous decapitation strikes have not had the
| intended effect. And I can only hope the Iranian people somehow
| end up better for this entirely illegal war that the Trump
| administration has initiated, instead of facing up to a fractured
| leadership and a potential civil war.
| hit8run wrote:
| Today is a good day.
| kingofmen wrote:
| > President Trump announced the Iranian leader's death on social
| media, saying Khamenei could not avoid U.S. intelligence and
| surveillance. A source briefed on the U.S.-Israeli attacks on
| Iran told NPR earlier Saturday that an Israeli airstrike killed
| Khamenei.
|
| This does not seem to me like very strong evidence? Trump just
| says whatever, and "a source briefed on [the attacks]" just means
| at least one person in USG thinks Khamenei was in whatever house
| they blew up. Am I missing some other confirmation?
| ReptileMan wrote:
| If he is not dead - Iran will have to show him - and he will be
| double tapped.
| pavlov wrote:
| The killings of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were so
| amazingly successful in stabilizing those countries that
| Americans keep repeating the pattern.
| mkoubaa wrote:
| It's almost like they are either stupid or the point was never
| about stability
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| Not a killing, but capturing Noriega did in fact work out well.
| Panama of today is generally stable and rich (by Latam
| standards anyway).
| xannabxlle wrote:
| I'm tired of Israelis killing innocent people
| pjc50 wrote:
| This was has killed a lot of innocent people. Khamenei was not
| one of the innocent.
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| Ah yes, the poor innocent dictator minding his own business
| while killing thousands of protestors.
| garbawarb wrote:
| To any Iranians of HN: how do you feel about the current
| situation, and what's the sentiment of Iranians abroad?
| hnthrowaway0315 wrote:
| If the hard-liners IRGC generals went with him then it might be a
| good thing for its economy. I have heard some rumors that China
| was frustrated that IRGC pushed against the deals and were not
| willing to accept foreign investments in key oil/infra projects
| because they sit on them -- and that was why China never put down
| any real investments after signing the deals.
| eunos wrote:
| IRGC or whatever succeed next should wise themselves and stop
| hedging about whatever next deal with US/EU.
| hnthrowaway0315 wrote:
| I think the biggest problem of IRGC is that they grabbed a
| large share of economy but spent a lot of that in
| geopolitical expansion for the last 1-2 decades. This in turn
| contributed to a more fragile Iranian economy and high
| inflation, which makes them extremely unpopular among the
| people.
| SethMurphy wrote:
| If the United States truly supported regime change there should
| be a clear next leader favored to succeed the Ayatollah,
| otherwise this feels more like a favor to oil companies, raising
| prices temporarily, and a sound bite for political gain, without
| a care of what happens to the country later. Simply toppling a
| government seems quite risky without further planning. Just
| expecting "good" people to fill the leadership vacuum is a gamble
| that could easily backfire and lead to greater crackdowns on
| freedoms and death to those Trump told to go get the power.
| eunos wrote:
| I'm not discounting that Trump is thinking he could back
| another Pahlavi and restore the Peacock Throne.
| Dig1t wrote:
| Obviously has nothing to do with oil companies or oil, this is
| a war on behalf of Israel. Netanyahu visited Trump 6 times in
| the past year. Prominent Zionists and Israelis inside the US
| have been agitating for the US to do this for years, especially
| since Trump took office last year.
| dispersed wrote:
| Trump hasn't provided any evidence of his death and is quoted as
| saying something very non-Trumpian here:
| https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/israel-iran-liv...
|
| > Earlier, Trump addressed reports that Khamenei was killed in
| airstrikes today, saying, "We feel that that is a correct story."
|
| This doesn't sound like Trump's typical bluster, and it's even
| weirder that Trump didn't immediately go on TV to brag. I'm not
| saying this is fake news, but I'll wait for confirmation.
| small_model wrote:
| If true, and given how easy it seemed decapitate the regime I
| can't see another Ayatollah taking over, hopefully the people
| take over and institute a real secular democracy based on
| capitalism.
| grey-area wrote:
| Without proper support and a huge nation building effort, the
| same fate as Lebanon, Syria, Lybia Iraq, Afghanistan is the
| more likely outcome after this evil dictator is gone.
|
| Assassination doesn't remove the system or rewrite the balance
| of power, nor does it reconstitute civil society.
| ReptileMan wrote:
| Ding dong the witch is dead. Let's hope other witches follow his
| steps.
| bossyTeacher wrote:
| Why didn't he flee? This was a long time coming
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| It's definitely odd if he was just sitting in his compound.
| That's a very, well, _known_ place for him. Surely Iran has
| plenty of secure underground bunkers for leadership to retreat
| to?
| g8oz wrote:
| America and Israel are lawless countries. Can you imagine other
| countries assassinating a foreign head of state and not getting
| immediate blowback?
| bamboozled wrote:
| My thinking is that, it's good when it works in your favor, but
| one day it night not, and if it doesn't well what recourse is
| available then?
| powerpcmac wrote:
| Fine, you got me. We will expedite another billion in aid to
| Israel to make up for it.
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| There's no such thing as a legitimate dictator, and every one
| of them belongs six feet under.
| SkyeCA wrote:
| > America and Israel are lawless countries.
|
| The truth of the world, as much as we may hate it, is that at
| least at the state level might makes right.
| cucumber3732842 wrote:
| You can't see the french or Russians doing the same thing in
| Africa? Because I sure can. There's be some hand wringing and
| posturing but that's about it.
|
| Not that it's ok for the US, or anyone elsem to do it.
| msuniverse2026 wrote:
| In my opinion the real problem for Iran lies in the north, on the
| border with Azerbaijan.
|
| The Israeli-supplied Azeri military has already demonstrated its
| effectiveness when it curb stomped the unprepared and internally
| betrayed Armenian military and militias. Baku will eventually
| decide to intervene in the northern territories. If I had to
| guess, a "special military operation" into northern Iran is the
| most likely follow-up scenario goaded into and supplied of course
| by Israel/US. The goal will be to foment a civil war and begin
| the dismemberment process of Iran.
|
| A little personal conspiracy theory I have is that after the last
| Israel/US intervention (when they mysteriously liquidated the
| only high-ranking and influential internal opposition of the
| Khamenei clan left) is that some sort of deal was worked out
| behind the scenes with the clan to get rid of the wizard-in-chief
| kinda like how Maduro was sold out. It is much easier to go to
| war with a country when it responds with only symbolic attacks
| and secretly promises to fight with one hand behind its back -
| provided cash and security flows for those at the top of course.
| 1a527dd5 wrote:
| I wonder how old the rest of the commentators are. I watched the
| Shock and Awe campaign. I watched Saddam fall. I remember
| thinking this is great.
|
| Years later, I understand it was a complete folly. Removing
| Saddam in itself was good but what it did the wider region was
| not good.
| heavyset_go wrote:
| This will be the start of something that never ends
| TulliusCicero wrote:
| Yes, whether these strikes are a good idea in general depends
| on whether they make life better for the regular people of Iran
| imo.
|
| That said, fuck Khamenei.
| gip wrote:
| I didn't vote for him but you've got to give it to Trump. Where
| past US presidents' foreign policy (wars: Afghanistan, Iraq;
| diplomacy: Iran under Obama, and so on) didn't go anywhere, Trump
| gets results.
|
| Now, these results may lead to unintended consequences in the
| future. But today, a murderer is dead.
| bambax wrote:
| The murderers are the people committing murders. That the
| victim was himself a ruthless tyrant doesn't change the fact
| that this is intolerable. The US can't be the only one allowed
| to bend the rules.
|
| Don't come crying around when the next 9/11 inevitably happens.
| heavyset_go wrote:
| Thank god we're kicking 5 million people off of their health
| insurance in 2027, otherwise we would not be able to afford all
| of these bombs.
| zyngaro wrote:
| The era of the Isreali empire in the Middle-east might have
| began. From being on the brink of extinction at the hands of the
| Germans 80 years go to building an empire is as outstanding
| achievement.
| w10-1 wrote:
| This claim and the offer of immunity may be intended more to
| reduce Iranian resistance than to represent reality.
|
| (I would not rely on immunity from a nation that left
| collaborators on the tarmac in afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam?)
| thecarbonista wrote:
| Why are the American democrats protesting?
| thisislife2 wrote:
| _Israel, Trump claims Khamenei killed, Iran denies_ -
| https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/2/28/live-israe...
| csmpltn wrote:
| All the angry people here coming out of the woodwork in this
| thread. Where were you just a month ago, when the Iranian regime
| murdered 30k of its own civilians within just a couple of days,
| during the recent wave of protests? This site is infested with
| woke moralists and islamists.
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