09 March 2026
Killing Khamenei
In a recent post on this blog, Sophie Duroy and Luca Trenta have offered an important and timely analysis of the normalisation of assassination as a tool of Statecraft, arguing that the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February 2026 represents “a new stage in the erosion of the international norm against assassination”. The concerns they voice are well-founded. The deliberate targeting and killing of a sitting head of State is a worrying precedent. In this post, I want to focus on one seemingly minor claim that runs through the Duroy and Trenta analysis: the assertion that Khamenei was killed “outside an armed conflict”. Continue reading >>
0



