Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes by the U.S. and Israel, and Iranians inside the country have been reacting with both joy and apprehension, CBS News contributor Masih Alinejad told CBS Evening News. Alinejad, an Iranian‑American journalist who says she has survived three plots by Iran’s regime to kill or kidnap her, described cheering in the streets, mothers celebrating the deaths of regime figures, and the raw mixture of “pain and hope” that many Iranians now feel.
Alinejad said she has been “singing, shouting, screaming, celebrating” and that she lost her voice after speaking with mothers who had lost children to the regime’s repression. Still, she emphasized the complexity of the moment: people are joyful because they believe Khamenei’s death could mark the beginning of a future without killers in power, but they also worry about what comes next.
Alinejad argued the Islamic Republic cannot be reformed and said Iranians in the street are naming potential alternatives — including Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has advocated for fair and free elections. She said the goal should be a transition to a secular democracy in which Iranians can elect a government through voting. To make that possible, she called on European and Arab leaders, as well as the U.S., to engage with the opposition and craft a strategic political plan. “This is the Berlin Wall moment,” she said, arguing that a strong international signal could persuade members of the Revolutionary Guard to stand down.
She stressed that ending the root cause of regional instability — the Islamic Republic — would reduce endless war and the export of violence. Alinejad recounted personal consequences of the regime’s rule: she was jailed at 19 while pregnant and said the government has “stolen” her life, family and country. That history underlies her impatience with calls to view the situation purely as a distant foreign policy issue; for Iranians like her, it is existential.
Alinejad also criticized some antiwar demonstrations in the U.S. that she said displayed chants sympathetic to groups responsible for killing Iranians, arguing that those protesters misunderstand the desires of Iranians who seek dignity and democracy. She urged Americans who care about Palestinian freedom to recognize the Islamic Republic’s role in regional repression and to support an Iran in which people can freely determine their own future.
Throughout the interview, Alinejad expressed a mixture of elation at the perceived weakening of the regime and caution about the dangers ahead. She called for coordinated international engagement with Iranian opposition forces and stressed that any durable change will require both domestic political alternatives and united signals from European, American and regional leaders.