Khamenei next? Iran 'rattled' as Israel kills Hezbollah chief; supreme leader goes into hiding

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been taken to a secure location after the assassination of Hezbollah chief

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is unsure about the next course of action as the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by Israel has left the country in a state of shock and bewilderment.

At least four Iranian officials told The New York Times that the leadership in the country is divided over the response to the audacious assassination.

The airstrike that killed Nasrallah also took the life of Abbas Nilforushan, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG), who was 58 years old.

The incident has thrown the already-volatile region into the most dangerous phase of the conflict.

The NYT report said that conservative Iranians are looking for a strong response, which includes a direct attack on Israel. However, moderates are urging restraint.

The news of Nasrallah’s death sent shockwaves through Tehran, prompting speculation among senior officials—both privately and in emergency meetings—that Israel might target Iran next, potentially setting its sights on Khamenei.

In response to the heightened security concerns, Khamenei was moved to a secure location, from where he pledged revenge for Nasrallah’s death.

While he was “deeply shaken” by the loss of his close friend, four Iranian officials noted that he maintained his composure throughout the ordeal.

Upon receiving the reports, Khamenei convened an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council at his home. During the discussions, differing opinions on the appropriate response began to emerge.

Hardline leaders like Saeed Jalili, who was an Iranian presidential candidate, said that the country should strike Israel before it does the same to Iran.

Even Iran's state-backed television has urged that the country should hit back at Israel.

However, the report said that Iran's recently elected president Masoud Pezeshkian is against such a move. He feels that a retaliatory action could trigger a regional war, which is exactly what Israel wants to start.

According to the report, other Iranian moderates are worried that a stirke on Israel would draw responses damaging critical Iranian infrastructure.

Khamenei, who is now in a secure location, had earlier lauded Nasrallah and promised to support Hezbollah. But he was careful not to threaten Israel directly.

"All of the forces in the resistance stand by Hezbollah. It will be Hezbollah, at the helm of the resistance forces, that will determine the fate of the region,” he said.

He vowed that Lebanon will make the aggressor and the evil enemy regretful.

Some analysts told NYT that the response was a sign of the Iranian supreme leader’s indecision regarding how to proceed, suggesting an apparent preference to avoid an all-out war.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed Nasrallah in the strike on the group's central command headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.

Hezbollah confirmed he had been killed, without saying how.

Nasrallah's death is a major blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, removing an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah into the linchpin of Tehran's network of allied groups in the Arab world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of Nasrallah as a necessary step toward "changing the balance of power in the region for years to come."

US President Joe Biden described Nasrallah's death as a measure of justice for what he called his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese, and said the US fully supported Israel's right to self-defence.

(With inputs from agencies)