Israeli Democrats leader says killing of Iran’s Ali Khamenei was a ‘mistake’

Yair Golan, head of Israel’s opposition Democratic Party, said that the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the outset of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February was a “mistake.”

“I think, unequivocally, the elimination of Khamenei the father was a mistake,” Golan said during an interview at an event in the city of Rishon LeZion south of Tel Aviv, The Times of Israel reported on Friday.

“Not because he didn’t deserve to die, only because it doesn’t serve the interests of the State of Israel,” he stated, noting that Khamenei was 86 years old.

The Israeli politician claimed that Ali Khamenei’s succession by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, had left Iran under the leadership of “more extreme and violent individuals.”

Golan also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for pursuing an “unrealistic goal” of toppling the Iranian government, saying it had not been achieved.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Tehran to respond with missile and drone attacks in the region and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.

The war has heightened regional tensions in the Middle East and raised global energy prices as commercial oil traffic through the strait has effectively halted.

Washington and Tehran signed a framework agreement in June following mediation efforts by Pakistan and Qatar to halt hostilities and pave the way for negotiations.