Hamenei exported 90% of Iran's oil to China and received payments in yuan, challenging America's dollar hegemony and building an anti-Western alliance. [Yonhap News Photo Composite]The United States and Israel plunged the world into shock by killing Iran's supreme leader, Khamenei, and more than 40 leaders during a midday meeting with precision strikes guided by satellite coordinates. 

The enormous rock that had been crushing Iran for nearly half a century since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 has been removed. The news that Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in the U.S. military's 'EPIC Fury' operation surprised the world, but the most fervent reaction came from the streets of Iran. 

The sight of citizens cheering in the squares rather than mourning the death of a dictator is a testament to the depth of the oppression they have endured.

Background and Causes of Operation 'EPIC Fury'

The background and causes of this operation, led by Israel and the United States and supported by Britain, France, and Germany, can be summarized as a combination of decades of accumulated conflict and recent rapid changes in the political landscape.

In the recent nuclear negotiations held in Geneva, the United States demanded that Iran 'permanently dismantle its nuclear facilities' and 'export all enriched uranium abroad,' but Iran refused.

According to U.S. intelligence agencies, they have secured evidence that Iran is secretly restarting its nuclear program and is on the verge of completing intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology that could strike the U.S. mainland.

Large-scale anti-government protests erupted in Iran from late 2025 due to economic collapse and oppression. The Trump administration appears to have judged this period as the opportune moment for regime change.

Condemning the Iranian government's brutal crackdown on protests, the "liberation of the Iranian people" was presented as one of the main humanitarian justifications for the attack.

The United States officially declared Iran as the ultimate perpetrator behind various acts of terrorism and instability in the Middle East, including the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Furthermore, the military decision was made based on the judgment that continued drone attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria and disruptions to navigation in the Red Sea (support for Houthi rebels) could no longer be tolerated.

Oppression Committed in the Name of God: 45 Years of Winter

Iran's theocracy, which lasted from Khomeini (1979-1989) to Khamenei (1989-2026), has subjected its people to a 'hell on earth.' Under an absolute dictatorial regime based on Islamic fundamentalism, the freedoms and basic rights of the Iranian people have been thoroughly violated.

On the 28th (local time), Iranians in Los Angeles, USA, are waving the pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flag and welcoming the death of Khamenei. [Photo=AFP]

From the 'morality police' regulating women's attire to ideological purges, the Iranian people have lived deprived of freedom under suffocating surveillance. Following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, which triggered the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests, the Iranian authorities have continued to impose severe punishments on protest participants.

According to international human rights organizations, the Iranian government is executing individuals on charges such as 'corruption on earth (Mofsed-e-filarz)' related to protests to create an atmosphere of fear and suppress dissent.

The anti-government protests that began in Iran from late 2025 are recorded as one of the bloodiest crackdowns in modern Iranian history. 

As of March 2026, the reported number of casualties varies by tallying agency, but it is estimated to be as high as 30,000. The Iranian authorities attempted to prevent the exact scale of the damage from being known externally by completely blocking the internet and communications ahead of a large-scale crackdown.

The Iranian regime has been fixated on developing nuclear weapons and exporting terrorism instead of caring for the welfare of its people. While plunging the entire Middle East into the terror of war by supporting proxy forces such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels, Iran's economy has collapsed, and its people have suffered from crippling inflation and poverty.

Comparing the current economic indicators with the past when it was called the 'Tiger of the Middle East' (Pahlavi monarchy, 1960s-1970s) clearly shows why the Iranian people yearn for the past. 

∎Average economic growth rate: Approx. 9% vs. 0.3%-1.1% (stagnation and negative growth) 

∎Average annual inflation rate: Approx. 2% (stable) vs. 48.6%-60% (hyperinflation crisis)

∎Food prices: World average vs. soaring by 90%-110% (threat to survival)

∎Currency value: Stable Rial (approx. 70 rials per dollar) vs. plummeting Rial (exceeding 1,000,000 rials per dollar)

Challenging Dollar Hegemony and Building an Anti-Western Alliance

Khamenei, by shouting 'Down with America' and 'Annihilation of Israel,' has isolated himself from the international community and instead joined hands with totalitarian regimes like China and Russia.

He exported 90% of Iran's oil to China and received payments in yuan, challenging America's dollar hegemony and building an anti-Western alliance. He also fanned the flames of the war in Ukraine by supplying drones and missiles to Russia.

The Iranian regime has focused its national capabilities on regime maintenance and military buildup rather than on the welfare of its people. As of 2025, the official military and security budget alone surged by 35% compared to the previous year (estimated at approximately $23 billion), and the intelligence ministry's budget increased by 67%. 

School facilities have become dilapidated, teachers have suffered from unpaid wages, and hospitals have faced severe shortages of medicine. The $2 trillion spent on military and nuclear development over the past 30 years is an astronomical sum that could have provided each Iranian household with approximately $80,000 (about 100 million won).

∎Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): Approximately $1.9 billion (official) + unofficial funds (key to regime protection, leading nuclear/missile development)

∎Support for proxy forces: Hezbollah ($700 million annually), Houthi, Hamas (exporting terrorism to expand influence in the Middle East)

Iran's religious fundamentalist rule has only brought disillusionment with the regime to the generation that remembers the free and prosperous past under the Pahlavi monarchy, and to the younger generation that has experienced the outside world through the internet.

"We wanted bread, but the regime gave us missiles"—a protest slogan from the streets of Tehran—

Will China Help Iran?

China's involvement seems unlikely. China is a country that prioritizes economic interests, and it is unlikely to take actions that would lead to a full-scale confrontation with the West by making risky military support at a time when the Iranian regime is on the verge of collapse. For China, Iran has been a useful tool, not a 'blood ally' to sink with.

The 'Go East Policy,' chosen to avoid U.S. sanctions, has reduced Iran to a mere resource supplier for China. 90.8% of its total oil exports go to China (2024-25 data).

While challenging dollar hegemony by increasing the proportion of yuan payments for oil, Iran has actually been forced to buy Chinese goods and has lost autonomy in fund management by being tied to yuan assets. Furthermore, in return for bearing the risk of sanctions, it is leaking national wealth by selling oil to China at prices much lower than international market rates.

Where Will Iran Go?

The United States, wary of escalation, is asking the Iranian people to take the lead in 'regime change.' This appears to be a strategic choice to respect the aspirations for voluntary democratization within Iran while minimizing the side effects of external intervention.

The reason the people are cheering Khamenei's death is not simply because a devilish dictator is gone. It is the hope that the 'system of exploitation' that has taken meat from their tables and turned their children's futures into missile fuel can finally end.

Iran now stands at a great turning point where it must end this distorted 'war economy' and redirect the plundered national wealth towards the welfare of its people and future industries.

Khamenei's death is not merely the end of a leader but signifies the end of a long winter that has lasted 45 years. The world is watching and cheering for the day when the Iranian people will achieve freedom through their own efforts and contribute to true peace in the Middle East.

◆ Dr. Shin Dong-choon

Ph.D. in Public Administration, Representative of the National Union for Freedom and Unification. After passing the 21st Higher Civil Service Examination, he had a career in public service, followed by roles as CEO of a company, university professor, media contributor, author, and Chairman of the Global Aerospace Industry Association, engaging in diverse activities.