Khomeini died of natural causes .

By Fatima Bhutto
“The assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei is the single greatest strategic blunder in modern US history.
By killing him, the US and Israel didn’t just eliminate a leader; they fulfilled a 1,400-year-old prophecy and created a martyr whose shadow will haunt the West for decades.
Consider the symbolism: Iran has NEVER had a martyred Supreme Leader. Khomeini died of natural causes .
For the Leader of the Islamic Republic to be martyred by the “US/Israel” is 1000% on brand. It transforms a political office into a sacred, eternal cause .
The timing is catastrophic. Khamenei was killed in Ramadan, the same holy month as Imam Ali, the first Imam of Shiism and the “Epitome of Justice.”
To millions, this isn’t a “strike”, it’s a divine parallel. He died as Ali died: at the hands of an assassin during the month of fasting.
He was killed with his family. In the Shia psyche, this immediately mirrors the Martyrdom of Husayn at Karbala .
The narrative of the “oppressed” (Mazlum) vs the “oppressor” (Zalim) is now fully activated. This isn’t just an Iranian tragedy; it’s a global Shia rallying cry .
The blowback is already unprecedented. We are seeing something rare: Shia-Sunni unity .
From Karachi to Baghdad to Lucknow, Sunnis are joining Shias in the streets. By targeting a religious authority of this stature, the US has unified the Ummah against a common “tyrant.”
Trump’s “kill everyone” doctrine, dictated by Netanyahu , has backfired. They thought they were decapitating a regime .
Instead, they’ve given the Islamic Republic its most powerful symbol of legitimacy since 1979. You cannot kill an idea, especially one now bathed in the blood of “martyrdom.”
The West is celebrating a “tactical success” while sleepwalking into a strategic nightmare .
The US just traded a predictable adversary for an unpredictable, divinely-inspired global insurgency. This isn’t the end; it’s the beginning of a much darker chapter.”