Kayhan LondonKeyhan London editorial by Roshanak Asterki
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, a dictator was silenced. The leader of the Islamic Republic was killed in an Israeli missile attack while he always dreamed of martyrdom and was unable to achieve the ideals he had outlined and put his slogans into practice during nearly four decades of absolute rule. Khamenei’s end will be an important turning point not only in the fate of the Islamic Republic, but also in the contemporary history of Iran; the war that began with his assassination and has spread to 10 countries in the first five days will either lead Iran to the post-Islamic Republic era and the beginning of a new chapter in the political structure, or will make the winding path to freedom more uneven!
Eleven years after the victory of the 1979 Revolution, after the death of Khomeini and some time after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Khamenei was elected as the second leader of the Islamic Republic. Ruhollah Khomeini was known as the leader of the revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic, but Khamenei should be considered the “architect” of the system.
Khamenei, who had survived the assassination at the beginning of the revolution, succeeded Khomeini after assuming the presidency and quickly emerged as a dictatorial and totalitarian leader, cementing an inefficient, corrupt, incorruptible, and of course, irreparable structure. By taking measures such as imposing discretionary oversight, creating parallel security and executive structures, and infiltrating appointment institutions, he was able to shape not only the government but also a macro-level structure in the shadows, and extralegally transform the “leader’s house” into the center of gravity of the system’s decision-making.
He even tried to consolidate his interference in all areas by launching supranational councils, including the Supreme Council of Economic Leaders and the Strategic Council for Foreign Relations.
The world’s fifth longest-serving head of state has eliminated all critics and rivals of his designed structure in the blink of an eye in recent years. Perhaps, compared to the history of the Soviet Union, Lenin, and Stalin, he can be considered the Stalin of the revolutionary system that absolutely did not shy away from repression, and in the last stage of repression of citizens in December 2025, he was able to record the largest massacre of citizens in peacetime in the history of Iran and put the Islamic Republic at the top of the list of the most repressive governments in the world.
Beyond all this, Khamenei’s most important goal has always been the destruction of Israel, and he hoped that Israel would not live to see the next 25 years. This goal has wasted the country’s public and national resources for years and has faced the Iranian people with great costs, including, these days, a comprehensive military war.
Ali Khamenei’s name will be recorded in history as one of the dictatorial leaders of Iran and the world in a situation where it remains to be seen to what extent the structure he has designed
