On Saturday, Israeli officials said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed after an Israeli airstrike hit his complex in Tehran, a development that could accelerate a power struggle within the Islamic Republic and reshape Tehran’s regional posture. The news comes as US Israel attacks also target Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure, along with the president Donald Trump describing “major combat operations” intended to curb Tehran’s missile program and its network of armed partners in the Middle East.
Fox News reports a senior Israeli official told the newspaper that the attack left Khamenei’s complex in ruins and that the leader died after the attack. The report also quoted the senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran program Behnam Ben Taleblu He called Khamenei an ideologue who prioritized protecting his project by taking calculated risks.
Khamenei’s decades-long rule shaped Iran’s internal security model and its approach to projecting violence abroad, including financing and directing allied armed groups. The same proxy strategy became central to the US rationale for this weekend’s campaign, with Trump saying the goals included dismantling Tehran’s missile capabilities and its proxy network.
Larijani’s role amid rising geopolitical tensions
Khamenei had previously been elevated Ali Larijani towards a de facto role of crisis manager, anticipating possible clashes with the US and intensifying internal state management.
Larijani’s expanded responsibilities include overseeing nuclear discussions and coordinating with partners like Russia, reflecting a broader strategy to maintain stability under pressure.
The impact of Khamenei’s death on oil prices
Energy markets were already tense after Saturday’s US-Israeli strikes raised fears of disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that carries about 20% of global oil supplies. Some major oil companies and trading houses have halted the movement of crude and refined products during the passage following the attacks.
On Friday, Brent oil prices fell around $73 per barrel and rose about 20% in 2026. Capital Economics economist William Jackson wrote that even if fighting is contained, Brent could drift toward $80, while an extended supply shock could push prices toward $100 and add roughly 0.6 to 0.7 percentage points to global inflation.
Khamenei’s legacy also includes the architecture he built to keep the system functioning without a single leader, including the Office of the Supreme Leader, known as the Bayt.
Will geopolitical tensions cause a market crash?
Investors also looked at broader risk gauges that were choppy in 2026, including rate-driven turbulence and a sharp tech sell-off. The VIX volatility index is up about a third this year, while the MOVE index, linked to US interest rate volatility, is up about 15%.
Currency traders have wondered how an oil shock could shift flows to so-called havens, with analysts at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia noting that the dollar fell about 1% during last June’s conflict before recovering within days. They also said a longer supply-constraining fight could support the dollar against most peers, while the yen and Swiss franc could hold up better, the outlet reported.
Khamenei’s tenure was marked by repeated crackdowns on dissent, including mass unrest in 2009 and in 2022 thereafter. Mahsa Amini died in custody, according to Fox News. The newspaper also cited a study by Iran International, which estimated that as many as 30,000 people were believed to have been killed over the course of two days, January 8 to 9, 2026, in a new wave of protests and security responses.
International observers have documented increased levels of executions, with Amnesty International saying Iranian authorities carried out more than 1,000 executions in 2025, while a UN report puts the number of executions in 2024 at at least 975, the newspaper reported. These domestic controls underpinned Khamenei’s ability to sustain confrontation abroad, even as Israel attacked senior figures around him during a 12-day war in June 2025.
Response from Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi
The exiled crown prince of Iran Reza Pahlavithe son of Iran’s last Shah, called the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran a historic turning point and claimed the Islamic Republic is “on the brink of collapse.”
Pahlavi, who has lived in the United States since leaving Iran during the 1979 revolution, called on citizens to withdraw their support for the ruling establishment.
In a message on X, he described the developments as a decisive moment for the future of the country.
He said the aid promised by the US president to the Iranian people has now become a reality, characterizing the action as a humanitarian effort aimed at dismantling the regime’s repressive institutions rather than harming the Iranian nation itself.
Image: Shutterstock/FotoField
#Khamenei #killed #Israeli #attack #compound