Having blasted open a vacuum, there's no guarantee the US and Israel will like what comes next
(CNN) Tel Aviv, Israel— Undermining this moment of relief for many repressed Iranians is that killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a perilously simple fix to a very complex problem.
Khamanei’s rule was marked by mismanagement, and ultimately ended with one of the more brutal episodes of his trademark repression – the violence his regime meted out to keep power.
His removal has sparked celebrations in Tehran, as well as 40 days’ official mourning and huge pro-regime crowds – but also a struggle for what remains of the regime to work out what comes next.
Israeli officials have hinted the strike was expedited to exploit a daylight window of opportunity when senior Iranian leaders met. And US President Donald Trump appears to have reached again for the Venezuela playbook, suggesting he had a successor in mind – as he did after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, anointing deputy leader Delcy Rodriguez as his preferred interlocutor.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/01/middleeast/iran-israel-us-analysis-npw-int-hnk