Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Killed in Airstrikes Saturday… Iran Responds.
Combined Israeli and US strikes targeted locations across Iran early the morning of Feburary 28. Almost immediately Iran responded with counter attacks on US bases and civilian infrastructure in Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait and Dubai resulting in a number of casualties.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the strikes this morning arguing that they were carried out to defend American interests and lives, however he also acknowledged this would likely result in retaliation and potentially American casualties.
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Prior to the strikes, the U.S. military could be seen building up a significant military force near Iranian territory, this included the deployment of aircraft carrier The USS Gerald R. Ford, which had been deployed in the topple of Venezuelan president Maduro just a month earlier.
Despite this public maneurving, mission details were not leaked, even members of the army were unaware until the time of their deployment. An anonymous military source claims ““This is really Israel’s war” and compared it to Bush’s 2001 war on terror. But how did we get to this point in just a couple months time?
Protests Begin
This recent round of protests against the Iranian government began on December 28, 2025, protests broke over an economic collapse causing the value of the Iranian Rial to plummet in addition to decades of repression from the Islamic Republic government and its military wing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
For instance when the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was deposed in 1979, many of his supporters were forced to flee the country or suffer violent reprisals. Some were killed or simply disapeared for former allegience to the Shah, communist sentiment, or even for just protecting enemies of the IRGC. Many fled the continuing Islamic Republic in later years to seek better opportunities or escape Islamic law which enforced things like certain dress codes for women.
Now leading the protest movement, and if it is successful, the successor to the Iranian crown, is the son of the former Shah, Prince Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi is widely supported by protestors in the Iranian diaspora as well as within in Iran itself. He also played a significant role in helping organize the protestors and attended the Munich Security Conference to argue their cause.
Within the country however, there are other groups vying for power such as the the Mojahedin-e-Khalq or MEK. The MEK which is widely regarded as both communist and extremist was instrumental in the fall of the Shah, and yet now they find themselves shoulder to shoulder with pro-Pahlavi supporters both in Iran and abroad.
There has been some rumors that Israel and American assets were involved in rallying some of the protests and increasing violence. In particular actions like burning mosques might not be consistent with the average protester. A tweet by former U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo appears to corroborate this claim:
According to recent reports from Iran International, as many as 36,000 protestors may have been killed by the IRGC, with thousands more arrested, or injured, or even just disappeared. Even government numbers admit that they killed as many as 4000 civilians. This wave of violence across 400 cities came as part of a January crackdown, as the internet was cut on January 8, isolating Iranians from the outside world.
Iran Retalitates
The biggest concern with these strikes is that it will result in a longer and broader conflict which threatens to draw in other countries in the region and across the world. Many have made comparisons to the Iraq war which lasted from 2003 to 2011 and according to some estimates resulted in hundreds of thousands to over a million casualties.
The Iranian government has already responded, stating they will not back down and they will not hold back in their response. According to reporting by The Guardian, several retaliatory strikes have already occurred on U.S. bases across the region.
Notably, causing many of the previously mentioned critics to raise concern, several US bases have been attacked in Iraq. For now, these attacks are being carried out by the state of Iran, but local militias and Iranian trained praxis are rallying and likely to commit additional acts of violence. For instance, Hezbolla members have threated to get involved, and some fear it may even lead to a resurgence of ISIS.
An anonymous source familiar with the US military told me “This will end with either a regime change in 48 hours, or a third world war”.
A world war most be avoided by all means, but perhaps these bombs will be the first to burst the powder keg that is the Middle East. Iran will either claw itself back up to maintain power, or it will create a power vacuum creating long lasting civil war, or the final option, Israel uses it as opportunity to take over Iran, and subjugate the entire Middle East under its rule.
Its unclear what the final results will be, but what is clear is that this was a move taken by the President Trump in conjunction with Israel, without letting either their allies or even the American congress know ahead of time. Now these actions cant be undone, so the fate of Iran, the Middle East, and the World, remain in the balance.
By Gonzzo
