The crowd at the Imam Khamenei Grand Mosalla prayer complex in Tehran for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, July 6, 2026

EA on India News 9: Will Israel’s Targeted Assassinations Block US-Iran Deal?

UPDATE 1744 GMT:

I returned to India’s WION on Monday to consider Iran before, during, and after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the US-Israel War.

As large crowds turned out for the funeral ceremonies, I noted that the regime has support from some Iranians. However, for many Iranians, the issue has become the nation under attack from the US and Israel.

So, given the regime’s bloody repression of nationwide demonstrations in January and the mass protests since 1999, legitimacy is likely to be disputed amid economic problems and demands for political and social rights.

That means an uncertain future for both Iran and the region.

The other guest is Burzine Waghmar of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: I joined India’s WION on Saturday to evaluate the mass funeral ceremonies for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, assassinated on the first day of the US-Israel War.

I explain why, only six months after nationwide protests against the regime, millions of Iranians have turned out to mourn Khamenei and to call for retribution against the Trump Administration and the Israelis.

I note that while many Iranians — some of them whom I know — want the reform or even removal of the regime, they cannot pursue this while the Trump camp and Israel are attacking their country.

And I analyze how Israel’s misguided or deliberately misleading claim of a “rising” in Iran pushed the Trumpists to abandon talks and turn to war in late February.