Iran’s regime is still intact – the coming days will show if it can hold out

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the opening wave of joint US-Israeli strikes has pushed the Islamic Republic into its most precarious moment since 1979.

The operation targeted senior military and political leadership in what Washington described as a decisive effort to cripple Iran’s command structure.

By Saturday night, reports about Khamenei’s death were circulating widely, setting off scenes few would have imagined possible just days earlier.