Israeli politician says assassinating Ali Khamenei was a ‘mistake’

The leader of Israel’s Democrats party on Saturday has called the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a “mistake”. “I think, unequivocally, the elimination of Khamenei, the father, was a mistake - not because he didn’t deserve to die, only because it doesn’t serve the interests of the State of Israel,” Yair Golan said. He also added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of toppling the Iranian government was “unrealistic”. Khamenei was assassinated at the beginning of the US-Israel war and has been succeeded by his son, Mojtaba. The new supreme leader is believed to be far less risk-averse than his father, who had issued a fatwa in 2003 banning nuclear weapons in Iran. Supporters march with portraits of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Baghdad on 30 September 2026 (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)