Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei devised Tehran's aggressive war strategy, including attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors and efforts to inflict maximum damage on regional economic infrastructure, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing a source inside the regime.
The regime insider told the newspaper that the supreme leader and his deputies, who were killed in the first wave of strikes on Tehran on Saturday, began working on a "detailed" plan following Operation Rising Lion in June. The plan included attacks on energy facilities and strikes designed to disrupt regional air traffic, the source said.
"We had no choice but to escalate and ignite a major fire so that everyone would see," the insider said. "When our red lines were crossed in violation of all international laws, we could no longer adhere to the rules of the game," the source added.
The plan was implemented despite Khamenei's death and the killing of at least half a dozen senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including the defense minister and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in the massive US and Israeli bombardment. Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a member of a three-man temporary leadership council announced hours after Khamenei's death, said in a video statement Monday that "this war is being conducted with grace, according to Khamenei's planning."
Forces operating independently
"It will continue, and there will be further escalation," the regime insider said. "What did they expect? If the head of the Islamic republic is targeted, do they think nothing will happen?"
Part of the regime's approach has been to decentralize military decision-making to prevent its forces from being paralyzed by the assassinations of senior commanders. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hinted that Tehran's forces were operating independently.
"Our military units are now, in effect, independent and somewhat isolated, and they are operating based on general directives given to them in advance," he told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
The tactics reflect lessons learned from the June war, when Iran was stunned by the depth of Israeli intelligence penetration and its ability to assassinate senior military commanders in the opening hours of the conflict. This time, it began responding swiftly after Khamenei and senior defense officials were killed. The regime insider said that during the June war, "the command came from above." But now, "forces on the ground already know what they are supposed to do and remain in full coordination with the command center." a
However, by launching attacks against Gulf states that had sought to persuade US President Donald Trump to continue diplomacy with Iran and had eased tensions with Tehran in recent years, the Islamic republic risks further isolation and pushing its neighbors closer to supporting the US-Israeli side.
Iran's response was the "nightmare" scenario many had feared, said Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. She added that Tehran's aggressive rhetoric ahead of the war had raised concerns that the regime "would be an irrational rogue actor that lashes out uncontrollably."
