Killing Khamenei did not serve Israel’s interests, Netanyahu’s goal also unrealistic: Yair Golan

Photo: Collected

Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Democrats party, believes the decision to kill Iran’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not work in Israel’s interests. Nor does he consider realistic the goal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set of removing the Iranian government from power.

Golan explained that whether Khamenei deserved to be killed is not the main point of his remarks. What matters is how far the interests of the State of Israel were achieved by killing him.

In his words, ‘I think that, without doubt, killing Ali Khamenei was a mistake. Not because he did not deserve to die; rather, this step did not serve the interests of the State of Israel.’

Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike on 28 February, the very first day of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Several other senior Iranian officials also lost their lives in that strike.

After his death, his son Mojtaba Khamenei took over as Iran’s supreme leader. The new supreme leader is thought to be more willing to take risks than his father. For that reason, there is discussion about what effect this change of leadership will have on Iran’s policy and on the regional security situation.

Golan also calls the goal of toppling the government unrealistic

Golan did not only criticise the decision to kill Iran’s supreme leader; he also raised questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of removing the Iranian government from power. In his view, this goal is not realistic.

His remarks suggest that removing Iran’s top leadership and the goal of changing the country’s system of government are not the same thing. There is no guarantee that a country’s political system will collapse simply because a leader is killed.

Mojtaba Khamenei’s coming to power after his father’s death has brought to the fore the continuity in Iran’s leadership. This raises the question of how achievable the goal of bringing change to Iran’s leadership and system of government through war really is.

Ali Khamenei’s position on nuclear weapons

Ali Khamenei issued a religious fatwa in 2003. In it, he took a position against the making and use of nuclear weapons in Iran. He argued that such weapons are contrary to the principles and rulings of Islam.

The dispute between the United States, Israel and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme is a long-standing one. The United States and Israel have long seen the programme as a threat to security. Iran, however, has always maintained that its nuclear programme is being run for peaceful purposes.

With Mojtaba Khamenei taking charge, fresh discussion has arisen over which way Iran’s nuclear policy and the country’s relations with the Western world will go.

Golan’s comment came just as debate continues over the aims of the US and Israeli military operation, the possible consequences of the war and the change in Iran’s leadership. According to his remarks, although Ali Khamenei has been killed, it cannot be said that this has secured Israel’s strategic interests. At the same time, he also expressed doubt about achieving the goal of toppling Iran’s government. Source: Al Jazeera