‘Mess Around and Find Out’: 4 Opinion Writers on the Khamenei Strike

By David FrenchNicholas KristofBret StephensMegan K. Stack and Stephen Stromberg

The United States and Israel conducted airstrikes on Iran early on Saturday, and President Trump announced that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was killed. Stephen Stromberg, an editor in Opinion, convened the Opinion columnists David French, Nicholas Kristof and Bret Stephens and the Opinion contributing writer Megan K. Stack for a written discussion about the attack and its implications.

Stephen Stromberg: Trump says Iran’s supreme leader is dead. How should we feel about the potential for regime change?

Megan K. Stack: I fail to see how creating a political vacuum that could evolve in countless, unpredictable ways is expected to make anyone safer. There’s some vague idea that the Iranian people are all opposed to their government and will come together to create a new government. I don’t........

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