Across Iran, the government has used the pause in bombardments provided by the two-week ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel, to stage long-awaited public mourning rituals for its slain Supreme Leader — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

The killing of Khamenei by an Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28 was the opening salvo in a war that’s likely to bring dramatic long-term geopolitical changes to the Persian Gulf. U.S.-Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 3,000 people in Iran, according to the authorities, and brought significant damage to infrastructure. Retaliatory strikes by Tehran have stretched from Israel to Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates leaving scores dead and shattering the Gulf states reputation for safety and security.

Khamenei’s death and the subsequent war have also accelerated a reconfiguration of the country’s leadership, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — already a hugely powerful military force — cementing its dominant position across the economy and society. Well-placed politicians close to the Guard and to Khamenei’s successor, his son, Mojtaba, mean the IRGC now wields even more influence than it did pre-war. 

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