The Fox News Rundown From Washington: Iran After Khamenei & How US-Israeli Strikes Could Reshape The Region
Mar 1, 2026
Michael Allen, former NSC aide and Middle East security expert, and Russ Vought, White House OMB director on budget fights. They discuss reported death of Iran’s supreme leader and its regional fallout. They also unpack joint US-Israeli strikes, risks to energy markets, geopolitical ripple effects, and the standoff over DHS funding and appropriations.
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Khamenei Death Could Reshape The Region
- Michael Allen says Khamenei's presumed death is a gargantuan development that could radically transform Iran and the Middle East depending on succession dynamics.
- He warns removing the supreme leader alone won't end the regime because the IRGC and kleptocratic elites still control power and economic spoils.
Trump's Regime Change Ask Targets The IRGC
- Michael Allen highlights that President Trump explicitly called on the IRGC to break with the regime and offered immunity to those who lay down arms.
- Allen frames this as recognition that regime collapse requires fissures within IRGC and domestic security organs, not just leadership removal.
No Clear Successor Means Risk Of Factional Conflict
- Allen stresses Iran lacks a single ready opposition leader; chants for Reza Pahlavi are symbolic but he lacks an in-country following.
- He warns ethnic and sectarian fissures could spark ugly violence if power struggles emerge after regime weakening.