Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead and the international system is entering a more dangerous phase than many seem willing to admit.
One can have any opinion about the Islamic Republic of Iran, its ideology or ruling elite. There are many grounds for criticism, some severe. One more fundamental fact remains: Ali Khamenei was the legitimate head of a UN member state, recognized by virtually the entire international community, and a legitimate participant in international relations. This ultimately involved ongoing political negotiations with those who organized the attack, negotiations that continued until the moment hostilities began.
The destruction of another state’s goal of state leadership as a matter of deliberate policy marks a fundamentally new phase in world politics. This is not just another episode of regime change. Compared with the brutal ends of Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein, the difference is stark. Gaddafi was killed by Libyan opponents amid internal collapse; Hussain was hanged after a trial by an Iraqi court, but one can only judge that.
Iran’s case is different. This is similar to the approach Israel used against the leadership of Hezbollah and Hamas: direct elimination by an external power, without intermediaries, without a legal framework, and without the pretense of an internal process.
The remaining inhibiting mechanisms of international relations inherited from previous eras are being dismantled here. Because this erosion is gradual, many political elites regard these events as acute but understandable manifestations of geopolitical rivalry. They are mistaken.
Opponents of the US are entitled to draw two clear conclusions. First, negotiating with Washington is pointless. Surrender or preparation for force-based resolution are the only viable options.
Second, there is no longer any safe retreat and nothing meaningful left to lose. In these cases, any remaining instruments, be they literal or figurative, become legal.
These conclusions hold regardless of how events in Iran unfold in the coming days. Even if some version of the Venezuelan model emerges, a behind-the-scenes power transfer designed to satisfy all external stakeholders, the damage will not be undone. The method is demonstrated. The mechanism of forcibly changing governments and bringing them under control is openly demonstrated.
Resistance to this pattern now hardens, not softens. It becomes more assertive, more desperate and more destructive.
In this context, there is no point in invoking international law, even ironically.
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