Plumes of smoke rise following missile strikes in Tehran, March 1, 2026. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)
While the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is a major geopolitical rupture, it’s also a part of a longer sequence rooted in the very architecture designed to shield the Islamic Republic from such an outcome. For nearly two decades, what Tehran termed the “Axis of Resistance” projected an image of cohesion, resilience and strategic depth — from Gaza to Beirut, via Damascus and Baghdad.Today, every pillar on which the regime built its survival strategy has been knocked down — from its nuclear program and ballistic infrastructure to the military and political leaders of the numerous militias that served as instruments of its regional policy.Article not found.‘Strategic patience’ or paralysis?How did this web of armed proxies — around which Tehran had partly built its deterrence and through which it once claimed decisive...
While the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is a major geopolitical rupture, it’s also a part of a longer sequence rooted in the very architecture designed to shield the Islamic Republic from such an outcome. For nearly two decades, what Tehran termed the “Axis of Resistance” projected an image of cohesion, resilience and strategic depth — from Gaza to Beirut, via Damascus and Baghdad.Today, every pillar on which the regime built its survival strategy has been knocked down — from its nuclear program and ballistic infrastructure to the military and political leaders of the numerous militias that served as instruments of its regional policy.Article not found.‘Strategic patience’ or paralysis?How did this web of armed proxies — around which Tehran had partly built its deterrence and through which it once...
