Peter Hitchens has expressed deep concerns over the approach adopted by the United States and Israel of assassinating religious, political, and military figures in Iran, cautioning that such actions might ultimately backfire and lead to similar tactics being used against Western leaders. This perspective was shared during a recent episode of the Alas Vine & Hitchens podcast, where Hitchens, a seasoned columnist for the Mail on Sunday, voiced his apprehensions about the potential repercussions of this strategy.

The gravity of this issue was underscored by the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, who was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his residence on February 28, 2026. The attack claimed the lives of several members of his family, including his daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law. Moreover, the assault did not end there, as numerous other Iranian officials were targeted and killed in the weeks that followed.

While the reaction within Iran was mixed, with many celebrating in the streets, there remains a significant debate among analysts regarding the tactical wisdom of this move. Some question the prudence of eliminating an aging leader who was already contending with widespread unrest and protests, thereby potentially elevating him to the status of a martyr.

Hitchens further speculated on the possible global implications of such a strategy, suggesting a nightmarish scenario where a superpower, such as China, might employ similar tactics against a sitting US President. His warning serves as a reminder of the potential for these actions to spiral into a dangerous cycle of retaliation, posing a significant threat to international stability and leadership security.

While many Iranians celebrated in the streets following the Ayatollah’s death, a number of analysts have questioned the tactical shrewdness of forcibly removing an elderly leader who was already facing widespread protests in Iran and turning him into a martyr figure. 

Hitchens said that the policy of assassinating leaders could lead to a nightmare scenario in which a superpower like China seeks to take out a US President.

‘Just imagine, if you would, ten years hence, the Western nations are at war with China over Taiwan, not a totally impossible scenario,’ he said on the podcast. 

‘And one morning, shortly after this war begins, the President of the United States is sitting in the Oval Office in the White House, and he and his entire entourage are killed by a Chinese hypersonic missile.’

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former Supreme Leader, was assassinated in an Israeli missile strike on February 28, 2026 at the age of 86 

Israel have not been coy about their policy of assassination, with the Prime Minister’s office even releasing an image of Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the death of senior Iranian figures

However, Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens has argued that the policy of assassinating leaders could lead to a nightmare scenario in which a superpower like China seeks to take out a US President

Hitchens argues that the US and its allies risk squandering the moral upper-hand if continue to stoop to such methods. 

‘Whatever moral advantage we may have had, we’ve sacrificed by using these methods and left it open to any of our future enemies when they develop the same capacity to do the same to us,’ he said.

In the event of an attack on US political figures by a foreign power, the m would be in outcry, Hitchens said. 

‘I have no doubt that the media of the Western countries would be full of horrifying pictures of the carnage and the ruins, and everybody would go on the television, and indeed on social media, to say what a despicable acts this was,’ he added.  

‘I’m pretty certain they’d call it cowardice, and almost certainly they call it barbaric. In my view, they’d be right. 

‘But the Chinese would would turn around and say, “Well, hang on a minute. You do this too. Why do you complain?”‘ 

While Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the grand prize for the US and Israeli forces, a spate of other political, religious and military figures have also been targeted in the last month. 

Hours after the death of Khamenei, Iran’s feared national security chief Ali Larijani, thought by many to have been the de facto leader of the country and the architect of its terror, posted a message on social media, swearing revenge.

However, he too was soon assassinated in a secretive operation after Israeli authorities received intelligence that he would travel to one of his hideout apartments near Tehran alongside his son, as opposed to his normal residence.

On Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s command, precise strikes were launched and the mission was soon complete, with one Israeli security source confidently telling Channel 12 in the aftermath: ‘There is no way he survived this attack.’ 

Israel have not been coy about their policy of assassination, with the Prime Minister’s office even releasing an image of the PM ordering the death of senior Iranian figures. 

While a Chinese attack on the US president remains a speculative scenario for the time being, the idea of foreign nations seeking to assassinate foreign political leaders is clearly a prospect many in the Trump administration are already taking seriously. 

Speaking after the death of Ali Khamenei, President Trump told ABC News’ Jon Karl: ‘I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first.’ 

Nor is this fear new in US political circles.  

Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on January 3, 2020 by a US drone strike while travelling to meet Iraqi prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, a strike ordered by President Trump.  

Soleimani was commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with members of group planning to kill Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton in retaliation. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Shahram Poursafi, who also goes by the name Mehdi Rezayi, attempted to pay individuals in the United States $300,000 to carry out the murder in Washington, D.C. or Maryland.

To hear Peter Hitchens and Sarah Vine debate Britain’s nuclear future in full, search for Alas Vine and Hitchens wherever you get your podcasts.