Russia ‘warned Ali Khamenei of US strike but he chose to die a martyr’ | World | News
Russian intelligence specifically warned Ali Khamenei of the planned US strike on him — but the former Supreme Leader of Iran deliberately chose to accept a “martyr’s death”, it has been claimed. The account comes in a Kremlin-validated publication amid reports that the slain Iranian supreme leader’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei had lost a leg in an air strike, and may have been in a coma.
His “first address” to Iranians since inheriting his father’s mantle was reportedly a written statement, in which he vowed “revenge for the blood of your martyrs”, as he revealed his wife and sister were killed. Italian political scientist Igor Pellicciari was writing in the Russia in Global Politics journal, the editorial board of which includes Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Vladimir Putin’s world affairs aide Yuri Ushakov.
He said: “Regarding the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there is a view in Moscow that his presence in Tehran during the attack was not accidental.
“The Iranian leader chose not to hide despite warnings from Russian intelligence that the decision to strike had already been taken by the Americans in December 2025.”
This alleged warning by Russian intelligence “may have prompted Washington to delay the operation, initially planned for mid-January, and postpone it to a slightly later but more favourable moment before Iran could further reinforce its fortifications with Chinese support.”
The account said: “Given his advanced age [86], poor health and the existence of a chosen successor, Khamenei consciously turned his vulnerability into an act of political and religious martyrdom.
“The effect, according to Russian analysis, was to transform the conflict from a targeted military operation into a symbolic confrontation between the United States and the Shiite world.
Pellicciari, seen as pro-Moscow, claimed the killing – believed to be in an Israeli strike – “became a factor uniting the country around the regime and its religious identity”, having the “opposite effect from that intended by the United States”.
It “further strengthened the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, regarded as an effective pillar of the country’s military-political governance.”
The article also warned that Moscow was having trouble reading Donald Trump, compared with earlier presidents.
“Trump creates the impression that he does everything himself, employing a strategy of constantly revising his own decisions, which makes him unpredictable today and an unreliable partner tomorrow,” said Pellicciari, professor of the history of institutions and international relations at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo.
This came as Russia’s so-called Doomsday radio spewed out coded messages amid evident high international tension.
The bizarre Cold War relic – a radio station on air for half a century and nicknamed The Buzzer – cackled into action amid the turmoil in the Middle East.
The radio outlet is believed to be linked to Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.
The codewords – seen as impossible to decipher – today included FORCED, REZORUAN, KOBOCHELN, GOLOUBEY, PODGORILOY and ROSCHEK.
Later in a highly unusual day of multiple messages came ZUEKOKRIS, PLEXIGLAS, ZALPOFIRN, TRUTOSHUT, LASKA, RISKOHOLM, BLOOD and CAUCASUS.
The 15th message of the day from Putin’s bizarre signaller was BED SHEET, and the 16th was AVIATION.
The situation in Iran remains critical following the assassination of Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026. The selection of his son, Mojtaba, by the Assembly of Experts on March 9 marks the first dynastic succession in the history of the Islamic Republic, a move seen by many analysts as a desperate attempt by the Revolutionary Guard to maintain stability during wartime.
Despite official efforts to project continuity, the regime faces unprecedented internal strain. Large-scale protests have broken out in several cities, while the country’s infrastructure continues to buckle under sustained US and Israeli air strikes.
With Mojtaba Khamenei yet to appear in public and rumours of his own injuries persisting, the vacuum of visible leadership has only heightened the sense of a nation at a historic and violent tipping point.
