The Supreme Leader got the rousing sendoff he so desperately wanted yesterday. To live to his late eighties and to be a martyr! It doesn’t get any better than that.
Khamenei was an obstacle to a peaceful and prosperous Iran for decades. He oppressed his people, not out of spite or personal ambition, but because he thought it was God’s will. Now that he is out of the way, can we expect improvement?
Probably not. My hope was that he would die quietly in his bed as soon as possible, and that an open succession crisis splitting the elite would ensue. That is unlikely under the current conditions. The elite will probably rally around a hardliner, and nothing will change.