Iranian lawmakers call for retaliation against US and Israel after Khamenei assassination, crypto markets whipsaw

Iran’s parliament is demanding retaliatory strikes against the United States and Israel following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound. The 86-year-old leader’s death, confirmed by Iranian authorities on March 1, has triggered the most severe geopolitical escalation in the Middle East in decades, and crypto markets are feeling every tremor. Bitcoin dropped to approximately $63K in the immediate aftermath before clawing back to roughly $68K. The political fallout and calls for retaliation The airstrike on February 28, 2026 represented a dramatic escalation in US-Iran tensions that had been simmering for years. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, both publicly vowed punishment against those responsible, framing retaliation as a “legitimate right” of the Islamic Republic. Now Iranian lawmakers are amplifying that message, calling explicitly for strikes against both the US and Israel. By mid-2026, military activities have continued escalating, including an operation dubbed “True Promise IV” alongside ongoing US and Israeli strikes. Crypto ...