Yair Golan Calls Khamenei Assassination a Mistake, Netanyahu Responds

Yair Golan, Chairman of the Democrats, stated on Friday that the assassination of Ali Khamenei during the 'Roar of the Lion' operation was a strategic error. Golan argued that while Khamenei deserved to die, his death did not serve Israel's interests. He suggested that an elderly leader, like the 86-year-old Khamenei, might have been preferable to his son, who Golan believes is controlled by hardline elements within the Iranian leadership. Golan contended that Israel was at its strongest point against Iran at the end of the 'With the Lion' operation, and that 'Roar of the Lion' worsened the situation by setting an unrealistic war aim of regime change, a goal he attributed to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu responded to Golan's remarks via a video, stating, "Unbelievable. Now it's clear: it's either a strong right-wing government led by me, or a government of defeat by Eisenkot." Defense Minister Yisrael Katz questioned the opposition's stance, asking, "If this is the alternative, what's the wonder that all our enemies are working to bring down Netanyahu and the right-wing government?" Golan further elaborated on X, calling the assassination a "missed exceptional strategic opportunity" by Netanyahu, who he accused of selling unrealistic illusions of regime collapse to the Americans without a post-collapse political strategy. He reiterated that removing the old leadership strengthened more extreme and violent elements in Iran's security apparatus.