Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 86, was assassinated on February 28, 2026 in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound, marking the most severe geopolitical escalation in the Middle East in decades. Iranian lawmakers are now calling for retaliatory strikes against both Washington and Tel Aviv, after President Masoud Pezeshkian and the Supreme National Security Council confirmed that retaliation constitutes a « legitimate right » of the Islamic Republic. Bitcoin dropped to approximately $63,000 before rebounding to around $68,000, while outflows from Iranian crypto exchanges surged 700% to approximately $3 million, signaling genuine urgency among Iranian crypto holders. Prediction markets saw record volumes: over $45 million on Polymarket and more than $20 million in a single day on Kalshi for contracts related to Khamenei’s ouster.
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