Khamenei is dead. What happens next?

In a recent conversation on the Jerusalem Post podcast, presidential historian Gil Troy sat down with Shifra Jacobs to unpack the rapidly evolving situation. With Iran retaliating against the joint offensive and events changing by the hour, Troy offered a historian's lens on a crisis that feels anything but historical: it's happening in real time.

One of the most striking moments of the discussion centered on Kamala Harris's public response. The former presidential candidate released a statement opposing what she called "a regime change war in Iran," arguing that American troops should not be put in harm's way for what she described as "Trump's war choice." Troy and Jacobs explored the irony in that position, particularly given that Iranian women have been among the loudest voices calling for help from the international community, and the leader now answering that call is the one many of his critics have labeled a threat to progressive values.

As a presidential historian, Troy also weighed in on where this conflict might be heading, drawing on decades of studying how American presidents have navigated overseas wars. His honest assessment? This one is harder to predict than most, in large part because of the unconventional nature of Trump's decision-making.