It still strikes me as a terrible decision to kill/abduct leadership of any other country. The general thought is that, no matter the size, any country has the capacity to assassinate the leadership of another one with relative ease given the method, which is why no one does that. War is a political tool at the end of the day. Bypassing it to assassinate leadership is a recipe for a blowback assassination.
If Iran doesn't go that route, then they are a dove compared to the U.S., which was pretty obvious already.
Generally, under other circumstances, I'd agree with you, but that was before rule of law stopped mattering in this country at all and they started abducting and basically disappearing migrants. Now the only arguments to be made are logical ones, not established law ones.
We also made Khamenei a martyr and a hero! He was advised to hide and as opposed to the Trump narrative, was assassinated in his office! It did not take a major intelligence operation to find him. He wanted martyrdom. And we gave it to him! There are four levels of command succession in Iran. The people as far as I can tell have rallied around their flag and now everything they were told about the evil Americans/Israelis is true!
Since the 1950s, the United States has carried out a pattern of assassinations, coups, bombings and invasions that reshaped entire nations without their consent. These weren’t accidents, they were deliberate tools of statecraft.
When a superpower repeatedly uses covert violence, regime change, and military force to impose political outcomes abroad, it meets every functional definition of state terrorism. The scale of U.S. actions, from Iran to Guatemala, from Chile to Iraq, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, makes it the most consequential perpetrator of political violence in the modern era. In other words, the biggest state terrorist nation on earth!!
The game getting played by the ruling class proponents of regime change is to call any criticism of their illegal two-nation regime-change war "Anti-semitic." It is amazing to read some Substack authors trying to criticize Trump in the launch of this war, doing a word-search and not finding the I-word anywhere. I commented on political authors possible affliction with "Israeli avoidance syndrome" in their reporting and drew out the expected IDF propaganda stooges assigned to shame any person with the poor taste to voice such a query into silence with the "Anti-semite!" label.
With Israel and their hireling stooges like Schumer and Jeffries actually carrying water for Trump while trying to divorce their image from their actions, the contortions required for twisting criticism of Trump away from Israel and AIPAC Democrats are wonders to behold.
EU countries looking to protect "their" interests - devoid of morals.
ANY media, **anywhere** carrying a narrative which claims Iran is somehow the aggressor in this - bought and paid for.
None of this had to happen. There was no well-intentioned reason and certainly no moral imperative to any **working** people of the world that Israel and the US needed to attack Iran. Zero. This is morally reprehensible, profane and overtly telling of what the ruling class has for values.
This war must stop. For humanity, for decency, for the ideal of living in a world not ruled by psychopaths. Israel and the US own this catastrophe and it is up to the so-called leadership of those countries to end hostilities. Iran is doing what any other nation in its position would do. How dare anyone shame them or blame them for not dying politely, quietly and quickly.
Excellent, honest take. Sadly, those who hold power have no moral convictions, no humanity, no morals.... they live for more money and power at the expense of the masses
Well put, thanks for taking the words out of my mouth. The terrorists here are the USA, the Zionists in Israel and here. Wonder in what underground hole Mike Huckabee is hiding? Despicable humans all of them!
Why would France, the UK and Germany support the aggression by the US and Israel. They are supporting a terrorist state re Israel that has killed 70,000+ Gazans and waged a long standing illegal occupation. This is insane. Iran is the one country that has been taking direct action in the region to support the Palestinians. This is really a slap in the face for their efforts.
my understanding is that the eu and the uk are complicit -- actively involved and profiting from the destruction of gaza. the uk is said to have flown around half of the reconnaissance flights over gaza. war is highly profitable, and everyone wants a piece of it. moral bankruptcy.
This is the kind of moment where rhetoric collides with reality. The assassination of Ali Khamenei isn’t just a tactical strike — it’s a strategic earthquake. Decapitation strategies may work against fragmented militias, but history shows they rarely collapse a centralized state overnight. As Sina Azodi points out, Iran has spent decades preparing precisely for this scenario.
What’s most alarming is the gamble being taken by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. The assumption that shock-and-awe plus leadership assassination would trigger an internal uprising appears, at least so far, to be wishful thinking. Instead, we’re seeing consolidation, retaliation, and regional escalation — including strikes that risk pulling Gulf states and possibly European powers directly into the conflict.
The economic stakes are enormous. Even limited disruption to the Strait of Hormuz sends global markets into panic. Oil spikes, shipping halts, and civilian casualties on all sides create pressures that don’t stay contained to the battlefield. Wars launched with the expectation of quick psychological collapse often become wars of attrition instead.
The deeper question is whether there was ever a real diplomatic track — or whether “talks” were simply cover before military escalation. If negotiations are repeatedly followed by bombs, why would Tehran believe any future off-ramp is genuine?
This feels less like a controlled operation and more like a high-stakes wager that regional shock will produce political surrender. History suggests that nations under existential threat rarely capitulate — they harden.
The danger now isn’t just escalation. It’s miscalculation layered on pride, domestic politics, and the illusion that force can substitute for strategy.
The aftermath of Ayotallah Ali Khamenei’s assassination/martyrdom has begun. There were massive protests in Pakistan. The US consulate in Karachi was attacked by a mob, and the US security personnel guarding the complex killed people.
A major religious figure, followed and revered by millions was assassinated in the holy month of Ramadan. It shows a certain mind set and contempt.
In Pakistan, many prominent Shia and Sunni figures have condemned the invasion and condemned the assassinations. India had riots, and I am sure this will reverberate across multiple countries.
Democracy and individual freedom for a people should not be at the cost of scores and scores of human lives, and western style democracy is not really real, it’s just a hoax.
The irony of the so-called democratic government in the US is they are trying to impose an autocratic theocracy! And when we go to the polls to vote we get two choices, MAGA and MAGA-lite!
I don't trust Trump. My thought is that he started this attack on Iran to show his power, though he was probably spurred on by Netanyahu. Truth be told, he has too much power. I'll quote Lord Acton again: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Trump needs to be impeached badly. Rev Dr Kenneth D Stephens
In Trump's first term, the US walked away from the nuclear arms treaty negotiated by the Obama administration, despite the fact that Iran was complying with the treaty. Biden only showed an interest in renewing it at the end of his term, so there was apparently insufficient time to renew it. Trump regains power and decides to go to war with Iran rather than renegotiate the treaty even though the evidence shows the Iranians are not trying to build a nuclear bomb. Its very clear who is the injured party here: it is Iran. Fxxk Trump and his illegal, senseless war!! Let's impeach the bastard!
Trump is now on his third invasion. Someone has to stop this megalomaniac advance. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had this opportunity in 1939. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had an opportunity today to make his influence felt but he also appeased. He changed his position that the US could not use British bases to attack Iran to now allowing it. Starmer was already in a different political position and could have made a small but material difference in the US/Zionist continuous attacks on humanity.
The Ayatollah was ready to die, and made contingency plans to be followed upon his death. He was used to suffering and struggle and was the religious leader, not the governing leader of Iran. Persia (Iran) has been around since 500BC and was taken down by Alexander the Great.. DJT is no AG.
As a result of the Church and Pike committee’s findings in 1975-76, President Ford signed an Executive Order banning political assassinations. Why is no one talking about it?
Yes, it is past time to start talking about it. Is this really the world we want to live in, where the U.S. just kills any leader it does not like, regardless of what the American people think?
I'd stop at: "where the US just kills any leader they dont like". Wat the American people think is the product of propaganda and a poor education system. In addition popularity doesnt give u justification 4 murder
This is a Jewish war from start to finish. It was timed to start at Purim and was intended reenacting the mass slaughter of Persians from the book of Esther. These people have the moral values of a Late Bronze Age barbarian tribe coupled with the most sophisticated high-tech weaponry on Earth.
Israel has to be put down like a mad dog or the murders and atrocities will never end!
Khamenie and his team showed courage and integrity as a minimum. Whether you agree with his decisions or not, he chose not to be bullied into submission or to hide from our aggression but rather to give US leadership the opportunity to show our true worth. I believe he knew the probable outcome and allowed himself to be martyred. I hope the people and culture of Iran will survive our country's ignorance and arrogance. I hope we citizens will take this opportunity to show our own worth and hold our leaders accountable.
You're so right. I think it goes deeper than "I." Which is why the protections are so instant. Superb Jewish journalists like Max Blumenthal, Aaron Mate, Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald almost say it out loud (as loud as they can without being de-platformed or worse), but even they focus on "I" and "the Zionists" (another euphemism for a type of Jew whose tribalist tendencies make them immune in there own minds from their country's long-established rule of law, as long as their financial machinations enrich them and theirs). Max et al don't describe the outsized role such people have played in stripping away any protections guaranteed in our Constitution for law-abiding citizens. I am referring to the financial self-dealing that corrupted Wall Street, the tax evasion and money laundering and "deregulation" that turned our economy into a rigged casino. I am also referring to nepotism. And I am referring to misogyny. As a female, I can say that part out loud, especially in the wake of the Epstein revelations. As to governance, I'm referring to the likes of Epstein's pal Larry Summers on the "left" and Alan Greenspan on the "right." More heavy-handed (and less powerful because they didn't work for the government) were those notorious greenmailers. Carl Icahn stole the company I worked for and sold it off for parts, so, yeah, it's personal on that score too. And who can forget Bernie Madoff? These labels (Zionist etc.) have no meaning any more, as you imply. The correct descriptor is tribal. Democracy has no meaning in a "diverse" society that prizes "identity" over the greater good. Now all that matters is money and the only loyalty in that regard is to your "pro-israel" tribe. They have captured our country and eroded its institutions. Their latest puppet is, of course, Donald Trump. It was Biden before him. There will be no turning back until the BRICs nations subdue the "Zionist" monster through their strategy of patiently waiting for the Empire to implode not because of Chinese economic competition or Russia's military skill (its war of attrition in Ukraine is part of this patient waiting strategy), but because of its own criminality. Like any ruthless mob, the mobsters will turn on each other when the going gets tough, as the loyalty circle gets smaller smaller (and richer on paper) and grows ever more paranoid and unhinged, and the parasites devour the host.
It still strikes me as a terrible decision to kill/abduct leadership of any other country. The general thought is that, no matter the size, any country has the capacity to assassinate the leadership of another one with relative ease given the method, which is why no one does that. War is a political tool at the end of the day. Bypassing it to assassinate leadership is a recipe for a blowback assassination.
If Iran doesn't go that route, then they are a dove compared to the U.S., which was pretty obvious already.
President Ford signed an Executive Order in 1976 making it illegal to assassinate foreign leaders. Why is no one talking about it?
Generally, under other circumstances, I'd agree with you, but that was before rule of law stopped mattering in this country at all and they started abducting and basically disappearing migrants. Now the only arguments to be made are logical ones, not established law ones.
We also made Khamenei a martyr and a hero! He was advised to hide and as opposed to the Trump narrative, was assassinated in his office! It did not take a major intelligence operation to find him. He wanted martyrdom. And we gave it to him! There are four levels of command succession in Iran. The people as far as I can tell have rallied around their flag and now everything they were told about the evil Americans/Israelis is true!
The Israeli / American evil is a fact, with or without Khamenei's martyrdom...
Since the 1950s, the United States has carried out a pattern of assassinations, coups, bombings and invasions that reshaped entire nations without their consent. These weren’t accidents, they were deliberate tools of statecraft.
When a superpower repeatedly uses covert violence, regime change, and military force to impose political outcomes abroad, it meets every functional definition of state terrorism. The scale of U.S. actions, from Iran to Guatemala, from Chile to Iraq, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, makes it the most consequential perpetrator of political violence in the modern era. In other words, the biggest state terrorist nation on earth!!
Well said. An ugly truth to be avoided at all costs.
Well put.
The game getting played by the ruling class proponents of regime change is to call any criticism of their illegal two-nation regime-change war "Anti-semitic." It is amazing to read some Substack authors trying to criticize Trump in the launch of this war, doing a word-search and not finding the I-word anywhere. I commented on political authors possible affliction with "Israeli avoidance syndrome" in their reporting and drew out the expected IDF propaganda stooges assigned to shame any person with the poor taste to voice such a query into silence with the "Anti-semite!" label.
With Israel and their hireling stooges like Schumer and Jeffries actually carrying water for Trump while trying to divorce their image from their actions, the contortions required for twisting criticism of Trump away from Israel and AIPAC Democrats are wonders to behold.
Every word has a life-span, and meanings change over the course of the life of the word.
I take the current meaning of 'antisemite' or 'antisemitism' to be:
"Shut the fuck up! Your mouth is bad for our business."
Establishment Democrats in the US - hypocrites.
ALL of **Royal** Arabia - traitors.
EU countries looking to protect "their" interests - devoid of morals.
ANY media, **anywhere** carrying a narrative which claims Iran is somehow the aggressor in this - bought and paid for.
None of this had to happen. There was no well-intentioned reason and certainly no moral imperative to any **working** people of the world that Israel and the US needed to attack Iran. Zero. This is morally reprehensible, profane and overtly telling of what the ruling class has for values.
This war must stop. For humanity, for decency, for the ideal of living in a world not ruled by psychopaths. Israel and the US own this catastrophe and it is up to the so-called leadership of those countries to end hostilities. Iran is doing what any other nation in its position would do. How dare anyone shame them or blame them for not dying politely, quietly and quickly.
💯
Excellent, honest take. Sadly, those who hold power have no moral convictions, no humanity, no morals.... they live for more money and power at the expense of the masses
Well put, thanks for taking the words out of my mouth. The terrorists here are the USA, the Zionists in Israel and here. Wonder in what underground hole Mike Huckabee is hiding? Despicable humans all of them!
Why would France, the UK and Germany support the aggression by the US and Israel. They are supporting a terrorist state re Israel that has killed 70,000+ Gazans and waged a long standing illegal occupation. This is insane. Iran is the one country that has been taking direct action in the region to support the Palestinians. This is really a slap in the face for their efforts.
my understanding is that the eu and the uk are complicit -- actively involved and profiting from the destruction of gaza. the uk is said to have flown around half of the reconnaissance flights over gaza. war is highly profitable, and everyone wants a piece of it. moral bankruptcy.
This is the kind of moment where rhetoric collides with reality. The assassination of Ali Khamenei isn’t just a tactical strike — it’s a strategic earthquake. Decapitation strategies may work against fragmented militias, but history shows they rarely collapse a centralized state overnight. As Sina Azodi points out, Iran has spent decades preparing precisely for this scenario.
What’s most alarming is the gamble being taken by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. The assumption that shock-and-awe plus leadership assassination would trigger an internal uprising appears, at least so far, to be wishful thinking. Instead, we’re seeing consolidation, retaliation, and regional escalation — including strikes that risk pulling Gulf states and possibly European powers directly into the conflict.
The economic stakes are enormous. Even limited disruption to the Strait of Hormuz sends global markets into panic. Oil spikes, shipping halts, and civilian casualties on all sides create pressures that don’t stay contained to the battlefield. Wars launched with the expectation of quick psychological collapse often become wars of attrition instead.
The deeper question is whether there was ever a real diplomatic track — or whether “talks” were simply cover before military escalation. If negotiations are repeatedly followed by bombs, why would Tehran believe any future off-ramp is genuine?
This feels less like a controlled operation and more like a high-stakes wager that regional shock will produce political surrender. History suggests that nations under existential threat rarely capitulate — they harden.
The danger now isn’t just escalation. It’s miscalculation layered on pride, domestic politics, and the illusion that force can substitute for strategy.
The aftermath of Ayotallah Ali Khamenei’s assassination/martyrdom has begun. There were massive protests in Pakistan. The US consulate in Karachi was attacked by a mob, and the US security personnel guarding the complex killed people.
A major religious figure, followed and revered by millions was assassinated in the holy month of Ramadan. It shows a certain mind set and contempt.
In Pakistan, many prominent Shia and Sunni figures have condemned the invasion and condemned the assassinations. India had riots, and I am sure this will reverberate across multiple countries.
Democracy and individual freedom for a people should not be at the cost of scores and scores of human lives, and western style democracy is not really real, it’s just a hoax.
The irony of the so-called democratic government in the US is they are trying to impose an autocratic theocracy! And when we go to the polls to vote we get two choices, MAGA and MAGA-lite!
I don't trust Trump. My thought is that he started this attack on Iran to show his power, though he was probably spurred on by Netanyahu. Truth be told, he has too much power. I'll quote Lord Acton again: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Trump needs to be impeached badly. Rev Dr Kenneth D Stephens
Trump is an illiterate egotistical buffoon full of hullabaloo!
In Trump's first term, the US walked away from the nuclear arms treaty negotiated by the Obama administration, despite the fact that Iran was complying with the treaty. Biden only showed an interest in renewing it at the end of his term, so there was apparently insufficient time to renew it. Trump regains power and decides to go to war with Iran rather than renegotiate the treaty even though the evidence shows the Iranians are not trying to build a nuclear bomb. Its very clear who is the injured party here: it is Iran. Fxxk Trump and his illegal, senseless war!! Let's impeach the bastard!
Trump is now on his third invasion. Someone has to stop this megalomaniac advance. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had this opportunity in 1939. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had an opportunity today to make his influence felt but he also appeased. He changed his position that the US could not use British bases to attack Iran to now allowing it. Starmer was already in a different political position and could have made a small but material difference in the US/Zionist continuous attacks on humanity.
The Ayatollah was ready to die, and made contingency plans to be followed upon his death. He was used to suffering and struggle and was the religious leader, not the governing leader of Iran. Persia (Iran) has been around since 500BC and was taken down by Alexander the Great.. DJT is no AG.
As a result of the Church and Pike committee’s findings in 1975-76, President Ford signed an Executive Order banning political assassinations. Why is no one talking about it?
Yes, it is past time to start talking about it. Is this really the world we want to live in, where the U.S. just kills any leader it does not like, regardless of what the American people think?
I'd stop at: "where the US just kills any leader they dont like". Wat the American people think is the product of propaganda and a poor education system. In addition popularity doesnt give u justification 4 murder
Trump is an Israeli asset and he always was:
https://pikulexpedition.substack.com/p/trump-timeline-of-an-israeli-asset
This is a Jewish war from start to finish. It was timed to start at Purim and was intended reenacting the mass slaughter of Persians from the book of Esther. These people have the moral values of a Late Bronze Age barbarian tribe coupled with the most sophisticated high-tech weaponry on Earth.
Israel has to be put down like a mad dog or the murders and atrocities will never end!
Khamenie and his team showed courage and integrity as a minimum. Whether you agree with his decisions or not, he chose not to be bullied into submission or to hide from our aggression but rather to give US leadership the opportunity to show our true worth. I believe he knew the probable outcome and allowed himself to be martyred. I hope the people and culture of Iran will survive our country's ignorance and arrogance. I hope we citizens will take this opportunity to show our own worth and hold our leaders accountable.
أَمْ حَسِبَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ أَنيَسْبِقُونَا سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
Khamenei was not hiding, because he was not afraid. Netanyahu is hiding, because he is afraid.
thank you,
MAY ALL BEINGS BE PROTECTED HAPPY AND LIVE IN PEACE
You're so right. I think it goes deeper than "I." Which is why the protections are so instant. Superb Jewish journalists like Max Blumenthal, Aaron Mate, Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald almost say it out loud (as loud as they can without being de-platformed or worse), but even they focus on "I" and "the Zionists" (another euphemism for a type of Jew whose tribalist tendencies make them immune in there own minds from their country's long-established rule of law, as long as their financial machinations enrich them and theirs). Max et al don't describe the outsized role such people have played in stripping away any protections guaranteed in our Constitution for law-abiding citizens. I am referring to the financial self-dealing that corrupted Wall Street, the tax evasion and money laundering and "deregulation" that turned our economy into a rigged casino. I am also referring to nepotism. And I am referring to misogyny. As a female, I can say that part out loud, especially in the wake of the Epstein revelations. As to governance, I'm referring to the likes of Epstein's pal Larry Summers on the "left" and Alan Greenspan on the "right." More heavy-handed (and less powerful because they didn't work for the government) were those notorious greenmailers. Carl Icahn stole the company I worked for and sold it off for parts, so, yeah, it's personal on that score too. And who can forget Bernie Madoff? These labels (Zionist etc.) have no meaning any more, as you imply. The correct descriptor is tribal. Democracy has no meaning in a "diverse" society that prizes "identity" over the greater good. Now all that matters is money and the only loyalty in that regard is to your "pro-israel" tribe. They have captured our country and eroded its institutions. Their latest puppet is, of course, Donald Trump. It was Biden before him. There will be no turning back until the BRICs nations subdue the "Zionist" monster through their strategy of patiently waiting for the Empire to implode not because of Chinese economic competition or Russia's military skill (its war of attrition in Ukraine is part of this patient waiting strategy), but because of its own criminality. Like any ruthless mob, the mobsters will turn on each other when the going gets tough, as the loyalty circle gets smaller smaller (and richer on paper) and grows ever more paranoid and unhinged, and the parasites devour the host.