On the morning of 28 February 2026, an explosion tore through the heart of Tehran, reshaping the course of modern Iranian history and perhaps that of the wider Middle East. Within minutes, one of the region’s most powerful figures had become the defining headline of a new era of uncertainty.
Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic since 1989, was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike on his residence. Al Majalla examines what his killing means for Iran, its proxies, and the greater region. Does his assassination signal the beginning of the end of the Islamic Republic, or just another chapter in the story of an embattled yet resilient regime?
Read more:
1. The stubborn revolutionary: Ali Khamenei's last stand by Arash Azizi
2. Khamenei's killing opens up a strategic abyss by Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy
3. When he sat in his isolated office negotiating with history by Ibrahim Hamidi
4. American anger at Iran and scenarios for Gulf security by Abdullah F. Alrebh
5. Israel’s long penetration war pays off by Michael Horowitz
