In the dramatic aftermath of the ousting of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a significant number of his key aides, a new wave of leadership has quickly emerged. Just a day after this sweeping upheaval, what’s left of the Islamic Republic’s power structure has rallied to form a new leadership council, boldly declaring their intent for retaliation.

Their promises of vengeance, however, may face significant hurdles. The skies above Iran are firmly dominated by the strategic might of Israel and the United States. It’s highly probable that the U.S. is employing a fleet of reconnaissance satellites and specialized aircraft to maintain a vigilant watch over the region. Iran’s recent aggressive moves, like launching missiles towards Gulf Arab states, seem to be alienating rather than unifying nations in the Middle East—a strategic blunder given the historically strained relations between Persians and Arabs.

The freshly minted leadership council is unlikely to congregate in person, considering the precarious security situation. They have announced plans to appoint a new Supreme Leader in the coming days. Among the frontrunners is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, head of Iran’s seminary system and deputy chairman of the “Assembly of Experts”—a group that might be spending the foreseeable future dodging potential threats from U.S. and Israeli forces. Another contender is Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the current head of Iran’s judiciary.

In typical fashion, the council has quickly voiced intentions of retaliation. While such rhetoric is characteristic of Iran’s leadership, known for their fiery declarations, it would be unwise to dismiss these threats entirely.

A massive explosion struck Iran’s capital Sunday as the Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. Earlier, Iran fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation.

Right now, Israel and the United States absolutely own the skies over Iran. It’s a near-certainty that the USA has satellites tasked with reconnaissance, as well as specialized aircraft. And Iran’s response to date seems to be deliberately calculated to turn every nation in the Middle East against them. Launching missiles against Gulf Arab states? That’s stupidity on steroids, but then, through history, Persians (Iran) and Arabs have never gotten along all that well.

This new leadership council, which we can presume won’t be gathering together in one room for breakfast meetings, has announced that a new Supreme Leader will be announced in the next few days. Likely candidates include the Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who leads Iran’s seminary system and is deputy chairman of something called the “Assembly of Experts,” which we can presume will be spending the next few days trying to avoid being disassembled by American and Israeli explosives. Another likely candidate is a goblin named Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the head of Iran’s judiciary.

The new council also wasted no time in claiming that the regime would be looking for payback.

• Iran vows revenge for Khamenei killing: “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.” Trump warned that any retaliation would only lead to further escalation.

This is the usual emission of superheated gas that Iran’s ruling nutcases have always been famous for, but it also can’t be dismissed out of hand.

Right here in the United States, after all, thanks to the feckless non-enforcement of immigration law and border security during the four years of the Biden administration, there may be as many as 1,500 Iranian nationals who entered the United States illegally from 2021 to 2025, and that number would only be the ones we know of. Now, today, we still likely have very little idea where these people are or what they are up to.

We also have no idea how many of them may be receiving orders from the new regime right now.

Even so, this new ruling council doubtless has several sets of American and Israeli crosshairs on it. The skies over Iran belong to the United States and Israel, and the streets are full of Iranian citizens, screaming their joy at the death of the late and unlamented Khamenei. Settling this thing once and for all is up to them, but we sure can clear the road for them.

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