On February 28, 2026, the article says, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike by अमेरिकी and Israeli missiles. The author uses this as a starting point to explain why confrontation with the United States and Israel remained one of the foundations of Iranian policy for decades.
The text links the origins of this course to the specifics of the Shiite tradition and to the reinterpretation of Islam proposed by Ruhollah Khomeini. Before the 1979 revolution, Shiism in Iran is described as relatively non-political, but Khomeini advanced the idea that society should be ruled by Islamic jurists able to defend the faith from Western influence.
The author also points to a long-standing distrust of the West. Among the key episodes cited are foreign influence in Iran in the 20th century, the nationalization of oil by Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, and the 1953 coup, which the text says was organized by British and American intelligence services. This reinforced the view of the US and the UK as outside powers shaping the country’s fate.
Another factor, the article argues, was the reform program of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. According to the text, the clergy lost revenue and influence while secular opposition was suppressed even more harshly. As a result, Islamist forces were able to lead the revolution, after which anti-imperialism, fused with Shiite symbolism of sacrifice and resistance to tyranny, became official ideology.
After 1979, the US was labeled the “Great Satan” and Israel the “Little Satan.” Under Khamenei, who took office in 1989, this rhetoric, in the author’s view, remained largely unchanged. Confrontation with an external enemy was used to justify domestic repression, restrictions on rights, and regional intervention, as well as a push for technological and military self-reliance, including nuclear and missile programs.
The article notes that the US and Iran reached a nuclear deal in 2015, but tensions rose again after Washington withdrew from it in 2018. It also mentions the 2019 crisis, the killing of Qassem Soleimani in 2020, and renewed talks in 2025–2026. In the author’s account, Iran’s economic crisis, domestic protests, and harsh ultimatums from Donald Trump’s administration brought the conflict to a new dangerous point.