Yair Golan argues assassination strengthened hardliners in Tehran and criticises Netanyahu for pursuing unrealistic regime-change goal.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan has described the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a serious strategic mistake, arguing that the move and the subsequent war against Iran have left Israel in a weaker position rather than strengthening its security.
Israeli Opposition Leader Calls Khamenei’s Killing a Strategic Mistake:
Golan, head of the Democrats party and a former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli military, made the comments on Friday during an interview at a cultural event in Rishon LeZion. “I unequivocally believe that killing the elder Khamenei was a mistake,” he said. “Not because he didn’t deserve to die, but because it doesn’t serve the interests of the State of Israel. There is always a certain advantage to having an elderly, long-serving leader. And he was already 86.”
Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his compound in Tehran on 28 February 2026, the opening day of a joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, known in Israel as Operation Roaring Lion. He was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. Golan said the succession had empowered “more extreme and violent individuals” within Iran’s leadership, particularly hardline security elements.
The opposition leader further argued that Israel’s strategic position had deteriorated as a result of the campaign. He contended that Israel had reached the height of its achievements against Iran following an earlier operation in 2025, but that the later war, driven by what he called an unrealistic objective set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-to overthrow the Iranian regime-had not been achieved and had ultimately worsened Israel’s long-term outlook.
Israeli Opposition Criticises Netanyahu’s Iran Strategy:
Golan accused Netanyahu of squandering a potential historic opportunity. Instead of pursuing a broader regional diplomatic initiative to secure Israel’s interests, he said, the prime minister had “sold the Americans illusions about overthrowing the Iranian regime, without a diplomatic strategy to secure what would come the day after.”
The remarks come amid ongoing regional fallout from the February conflict, which saw Iranian missile and drone responses and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, contributing to heightened tensions and impacts on global energy markets. Golan’s comments highlight deepening internal Israeli debate over the strategic outcomes of the confrontation with Iran, with the opposition questioning both the decision to target Khamenei and the broader goals of the military campaign.
Golan’s Democrats party sits in opposition to Netanyahu’s governing coalition. His critique focuses on strategic consequences rather than moral objections to the killing itself, framing the episode as a miscalculation that strengthened Iran’s more radical factions while failing to deliver the regime change that had been publicly discussed.