Imams in West Portray Khamenei as Victim, U.S. as Perpetrator
In the wake of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death as the result of joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Tehran on February 28, 2026, various Shia Islamist institutions and figures in Western countries have issued statements of mourning that frame his death as an act of “martyrdom” and express solidarity with the Islamic Republic—even after U.S. troops were attacked, and in some instances, killed by Iranian ordnance. Such responses, often from registered charities, student groups, and community centers, portray Khamenei—who led a brutal regime that has murdered tens of thousands of its own citizens—as a victim and the United States as under the control of the Jews.
