A Tyrant Falls. Dangerous Uncertainty Begins -- New York Times Editorial Board

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei governed Iran with the vigilance and brutality of an autocrat convinced that his own people and the world’s superpower sought to unseat him — and in the end, they did. With President Trump’s announcement that Ayatollah Khamenei, the 86-year-old supreme leader, was killed in joint American and Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, his reign has come to a close, cementing a lost half-century for his nation. As the Middle East confronts an unpredictable void, let us be clear: No one should mourn the death of a dictator who spent decades inflicting misery and bloodshed...

Mr. Trump’s approach to foreign policy offers little reason to believe he will prioritize Iran’s stability. So far in his second term, he has ordered military attacks in seven nations. Only two months ago he removed Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, but left Mr. Maduro’s deputies in power while abandoning an opposition party with widespread public support. Mr. Trump’s approach to Iran has been similarly impulsive. Announcing a military campaign in a video at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, he claimed that Iran presented “imminent threats” without offering evidence...

Amid the chaos this strike will cause in Iran, Americans should brace for the possibility of retaliation. True, Iran has failed to exact almost any meaningful damage on the United States in recent years ... But it maintains an arsenal of missiles capable of overwhelming defense systems, and this weekend it hit a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain ... The bigger risks may lie in the future. The president of the United States has just helped assassinate a foreign leader without the approval of Congress, the support of most allies or a plan for the future. History suggests that unilateral American involvement along these lines often has consequences that are not immediately apparent. When American officials helped orchestrate the 1953 coup, they surely did not imagine that they were planting the seeds for the Middle East’s most radical anti-American government.

Managing the future in Iran will require thoughtfulness, attention and international cooperation. We urge Mr. Trump to work with Congress, but at this point we have little expectation that he will... the United States cannot navigate the uncertainty alone. The Trump administration, which has frequently treated our allies with scorn, should bring international partners into the fold, too. Confronting a post-Khamenei Iran requires strategic clarity and a global coalition, not isolated decision-making.

For decades, the Iranian people have sacrificed greatly for the prospect of a more open society. After enduring years of autocracy and international isolation, they deserve the opportunity to chart a freer, more stable future."

Important history and context at the links

https://archive.ph/9xpPG'

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/opinion/iran-khamenei-killed-what-next.html