THE death of Ayatollah Khamenei along with his close associates and family members, including his wife, daughter and even grandchild has revived the memories of the greatest of all martyrdoms; the one in Karbala centuries ago. His ‘crime’ was pretty much the same that was committed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Pakistan; defiance in the face of severe threats.

In this particular case, Iran was given to understand by the United States and Israel that negotiations had a chance, and just when Iran was getting ready to sign some kind of agreement, the attack was launched. Even the American people are wondering how their government could go for such a horrible option when it had never brought the matter to the legislature. There are many in the West questioning the actual trigger behind this brazen aggression.

Khamenei had been in power for over 40 years without any complaint from the Iranian people despite the severe sanctions by the United States. All that the sanctions could do was to embolden the resolve of the people and the government. The situation today is such that even to the last man standing, Iran would target the complete destruction of the American-Israeli nexus.

Mansoor ul Haque Solangi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2026