The news was shocking, unexpected, and seemed to bear a dire prophecy – or so it appeared to many observers. Reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed during recent military strikes spread rapidly across the world, triggering speculation about escalation, regime change and the possible consequences for an already volatile region. Yet even as the story circulated, uncertainty remained. American officials were quick to deny that the United States had deliberately targeted the Iranian leader. In an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States had not set out to kill Khamenei and was not pursuing regime change, emphasising instead that American operations were directed against military infrastructure and immediate security threats.
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Aquinas and the question of tyrannicide
The death of Ayatollah Khamenei recalls an ancient moral dilemma that St Thomas Aquinas approaches with caution and weight
Jan C. Bentz
7 min read
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