Weekly Roundup from Kayhan Life: February 27th – March 6th

The Supreme Leader Is Dead. The Damage Lives On

Artist: Ahmad Barakizadeh

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, was killed last week in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran. For nearly four decades, Ali Khamenei presided over velayat-e faqih motlagh —  the absolute rule of the Islamic jurist — while claiming to defend justice, dignity, and independence. In practice, however, his rule was defined by misplaced priorities and endemic incompetence.

Obsessed with confrontation with Israel, he repeatedly predicted that the Jewish state would not survive another 25 years. The system he built squandered Iran’s wealth and sacrificed its human potential on the altar of its ideology.

Artist: Behnam Mohammadi

The closing days of Khamenei’s rule will define his legacy, sealing the coffin of a regime now collapsing under the weight of its own brutality. Tens of thousands of civilians were shot in alleys, streets, homes, and even in hospitals — a crime against humanity and one of the worst massacres in Iranian history. In those last days, the regime’s fanatical attachment to absolute power was fully exposed: its readiness to leave scorched earth behind in Iran, and provoke a wider regional conflict with global implications, than surrender control.

But Khamenei’s death will not, on its own, bring the clerical rule to an end. The Islamic Republic is not simply a man but a system — a web of ideological security forces, patronage and mafia-like networks, and theocratic institutions — that persists even as it crumbles under the weight of its own failures. It is bereft of legitimacy at home and discredited abroad.

Yet, Iran is breathing, beyond the wreckage Khamenei left behind, It lives in the hopes and determination of its people. This Iran wants peace at home, positive relations abroad, and to be a source of stability. Its vision is based on four main ideas: Iran as one nation with its borders respected, separation of state and religion, respect for human rights and dignity, and free and fair elections.

Iran is rising from the ashes of Khamenei and the ruins of the Islamic Republic.

Welcome to the Kayhan Life Week in Review

This week our coverage was defined by war, regional spillover, and a rapidly opening debate over what comes next. 

►Khamenei’s killing ruptured the regime’s political center and triggered a risky succession struggle. American and European leaders quickly began discussing the “day after,” signaling that the question was no longer whether Iran would change, but how.

Khamenei Killing Shatters Iran’s Order, Triggers High-Stakes Succession Race; 

Trump said the U.S. should help choose Iran’s next leader

Germany’s Merz Calls for Plan for ‘Day After’ in Iran

►As missiles landed across Iran and neighbouring countries, the conflict spilled into neighbouring Persian Gulf countries to Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the coast of Sri Lanka.

Missiles, Drones Coming from Iran Fell on Airport in Azerbaijan

Turkey Says NATO Defences Destroyed Missile Fired from Iran

Submarine Attack on Iranian Ship off Sri Lanka

►Yet one of Tehran’s main strategic assets looked weaker than expected. Despite years of Iranian investment in proxy forces, many allied militias in Iraq had still not mobilized a week into the war.

Iran Spent Years Fostering Proxies in Iraq. Now, Many Aren’t Eager to Join the War

►Europe, meanwhile, was already treating the Iran crisis as a domestic security problem. Europol warned of imminent risks, including terrorism, extremism, organized crime, cyberattacks, and AI-enabled fraud, while British police arrested four men over suspected Iranian spying on Jewish sites in and around London.

Europol Warns Iran Crisis Raises Threat of Terror, Extremism and Cyberattacks

UK Arrests Four Men on Suspicion of Iranian Spying of Jewish Sites

►Prince Reza Pahlavi called for a transition focused on dismantling the regime, not harming Iran itself. Kayhan Life also highlighted public backing from diaspora figures who endorsed Pahlavi’s roadmap for a secular, pluralistic, democratic future.

U.S. Assistance Arrives As Pahlavi Urges Iranian Forces To Join Transition

High-Profile Iranian Voices Rally Around Pahlavi’s Road Map

►Kayhan Life reported that Iran’s health system entered the war already badly strained, with officials warning that pharmaceutical reserves could last no more than two months. Rising prices, shortages, and policy failures meant the conflict threatened civilians not only through bombs, but through collapsing access to medicine.

As War Breaks Out, Iran’s Drug Shortage Reaches Crisis Point

►Eyewitnesses from Arak described snipers aiming at young protesters’ heads during the January crackdown, while the mother of 16-year-old Soda Akramifard recounted how her daughter was shot dead and later found among the bodies at a forensic center.

Snipers Aimed at Protesters’ Heads in January Protests in Arak

Mother of 16-Year-Old Killed in Protests Speaks to Kayhan Life

►And even culture and sport grew into battlegrounds for loyalty and dissent. More than 45 artists were reported imprisoned in the protests’ aftermath, while Iran’s women’s soccer team was branded “wartime traitors” after players stood silent during the national anthem before an Asian Cup match.

Islamic Republic Continues to Imprison Artists In Aftermath of Protests

Soccer-Iran Players Labelled ‘Wartime Traitors’ After Anthem Silence in Asian Cup Opener