Sometime on the weekend of February 28 and March 1, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei was killed during airstrikes on Tehran, Iran. For government leaders in many western nations, this was considered a beneficial killing. Iran’s state media described him as a “martyr” in a statement broadcast on state television. The attack on his compound, is claimed to have also killed his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law. At 86 years old, Khamenei and had led Iran for more than 36 years
At around the time that Khamenei was killed, Canada’s Prime Minister released a statement regarding attacks on Iran. The statement includes three primary policies:
“The Canadian government is closely following Iran-related hostilities throughout the Middle East and urges all Canadians in Iran to shelter in place. Canadians in the wider region should follow local advice and take all necessary precautions.
Canada’s position remains clear: the Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East, has one of the world’s worst human rights records, and must never be allowed to obtain or develop nuclear weapons.
Canada and our international partners have consistently called upon the Iranian regime to end its nuclear program, including at the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis and with the United Nations’ reimposition of sanctions in September.
Despite diplomatic efforts, Iran has neither fully dismantled its nuclear program, halted all enrichment activities, nor ended its support for regional terrorist proxy groups. Canada stands with the Iranian people in their long and courageous struggle against Iran’s oppressive regime. Canada has listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity, and has sanctioned 256 Iranian entities and 222 individuals in response to the regime’s repression and its violence both against its own people, and persistently, beyond its borders. Canada reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and to ensure the security of its people.
Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.
The Canadian government urges the protection of all civilians in this conflict. We will take all possible measures to protect our nationals and Canadian diplomatic missions throughout the region.”
Humanists International (HI) has consistently expressed concerns regarding human rights in Iran. In January of 2026, HI joined a join civil rights report that, “highlighted widespread and coordinated lethal repression against largely peaceful protest movements in Iran, including mass unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, and severe restrictions on communication and civil liberties. The appeal calls on the HRC to respond decisively to the rapidly deteriorating situation and to uphold its responsibility to prevent further violations.“
Khamenei had consistently reaffirmed the 1989 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie – a fatwas that led to a violent attack on Rushdie as recently as 2022.
Despite Iran’s government under President Mohammad Khatami declaring in 1998 that it would neither support nor hinder the assassination, Khamenei has maintained that the fatwa remains “solid and irrevocable” in 2017 and 2019. Iranian state media and hardline outlets celebrated attacks on Rushdie as “divine vengeance” or “divine retribution”, praising assailants and predicting future attacks on Western figures.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi will be Khamenei’s replacement. He is a senior Iranian Shia cleric who has taken a notably hardline stance on religious pluralism and non-Islamic belief systems within Iran.
Arafi is strongly opposed to atheism, which he considers a form of idolatry — placing it in the same category as a rejection of divine authority. He extends this criticism to Christianity, particularly the phenomenon of house churches in Iran, which he views as an ideological threat to Shia Islam and the foundations of the Islamic Republic.
His positions are deeply rooted in the velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the Islamic jurist) system that underpins Iran’s theocratic governance. From this perspective, alternative belief systems are not merely personal choices but existential challenges to the state’s religious legitimacy.
Rather than tolerating religious diversity, Arafi has actively promoted the expansion of Shia Islam globally. During his tenure as head of Al-Mustafa International University (2009–2018), he claimed the institution helped convert 50 million people to Shia Islam. This figure seems to be very disputable.
AI Disclosure
This article was drafted using a process that included the use of artificial intelligence tools. If you have any stylistic or editorial concerns or find factual errors or omissions, please let us know.
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Citations, References And Other Reading
- Featured Photo Courtesy of:
- https://www.thestatesman.com/world/ayatollah-alireza-arafi-anti-atheism-shia-cleric-named-interim-supreme-leader-of-iran-after-khamenei-death-1503564680.html
- https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2026/02/28/statement-prime-minister-carney-and-minister-anand-situation-middle-east
- https://humanists.international/location/iran/
- https://impactiran.org/2026/01/16/joint-civil-society-call-for-a-hrc-special-session-on-the-situation-in-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/
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