Donald Trump’s Strategy of Decapitation
Whether dead or sheltering deep underground, Ali Khamenei’s status has changed irrevocably. (Illustration by The Free Press, images via Getty)
Israel says the ayatollah is dead, and a source with intimate knowledge of the operation says that plans for the ‘day after’ have long been in the works.
--:--
--:--
Upgrade to Listen
5 mins
Produced by ElevenLabs using AI narration
11
Black smoke rises from the rubble of Ali Khamenei’s compound in Tehran. Officially, the Supreme Leader’s fate remains unknown—no televised address, no formal communiqué, only Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s cautious assurance that Ayatollah Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are, “as far as I know, alive.” Israeli intelligence, for its part, assesses that the opening strikes, launched by the United States and Israel this morning, likely killed the ayatollah.
Whether dead or sheltering deep underground, his status has changed irrevocably. He is now a target rather than a negotiating partner. President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have moved from a strategy of coercion to one of decapitation.
Continue Reading The Free Press
To support our journalism, and unlock all of our investigative stories and provocative commentary about the world as it actually is, subscribe below.
$8.33/month
Billed as $100 yearly
$10/month
Billed as $10 monthly
Already have an account?
Sign In
