Foreign Policy > Iran

Khamenei Finds His Time Is Up

We are being promised a short Iran war, but, as its future plays out, we need to ensure another Islamic dictatorship is not the end product.

James Zumwalt | March 4, 2026

A long life is something for which we all strive, although some seek to spend much of it in a position of power, controlling others. The 20th and 21st centuries gave us numerous dictators who spent years in such positions, until toppled naturally by the Grim Reaper, or unnaturally, by opposing domestic or foreign forces.

The Grim Reaper played with Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito, 87, for four months. He suffered a lengthy demise, finally succumbing to gangrene in 1980. So drawn out was his end that bettors ignominously set up pools concerning his death. But Tito had enjoyed a long run, serving first as prime minister (1943–1953) before becoming president and ruling until his 1980 death.

Cuba’s Fidel Castro ruled for 49 years (1958–2008) as prime minister, and then asp president/first secretary before voluntarily stepping down due to bad health. He died in 2016 at age 90. This made him the longest serving non-royal leader of the modern era.

Dictators meeting more violent ends, driven by internal forces, included Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled for 42 years, (1969–2011) and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, who had a 24-year run as ruler, through 2003. Both men were executed at age 69 by their own people—Gaddafi on the spot of his capture and Hussein after a trial.

History tells us dictators have no idea how long they will hold office or how their service will end. Most just know they are unlikely to surrender power on their own. This “when and how”........

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