Petraeus calls the arrogance of Iran’s leaders incredible after Khamenei’s assassination
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Former CIA Director General David Petraeus said on Sunday that the US-led operation that killed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used the regime’s “stupendous arrogance” while warning that Tehran still had the “power to retaliate” as it tried to maintain unity under a new leadership.
Petraeus called the operation “an incredible military achievement by the Israelis and the Americans” on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“Obviously, a lot of this was driven by intelligence, precision intelligence, and an incredible level of arrogance on the part of the Iranians,” he said, noting that Iran’s top leadership seemed confident enough to come together, making them vulnerable to simultaneous targeting.
Former Director of Central Intelligence and retired U.S. Army General David Petraeus participates in a discussion about Taiwan and Ukraine at the Hudson Institute on July 28, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He also said that it would be “foolish” for the Iranian people to retaliate against US attacks on neighboring countries, saying that those nations preferred to stay out of the conflict but are now at risk of being dragged out.
“Their planes are already flying as part of a defensive effort. And we will see if there is a decision about that [America] they also use their bases, which they initially denied because they wanted to stay on the sidelines,” said Petraeus.
The US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday morning, a joint military operation that officials say has targeted Iranian leadership and significant military installations. Iranian media confirmed that Khamenei was killed in the strikes, along with several senior officials.
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I military operations it is expected to last for days. Officials tell Fox News that Israel is targeting the Iranian leadership, while the United States is targeting military sites and ballistic missile infrastructure it says poses an “imminent threat.”
This map shows the targets of Iran’s retaliatory strikes after the US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday morning. (Fox Stories)
Amid the ongoing war, Petraeus noted that the Iranian interim leadership council is “very underpowered” and their intentions are still unclear.
“Iran is still very powerful,” he warned.
“And remember that it’s not just long-range missiles that can hit Israel… when you get to short-range missiles, there are a lot of those as well.”
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A former CIA official asked whether a new leader would emerge who would woo the Iranian people, rally disaffected parts of the regime and resist hardliners — and whether such a person would accept President Donald Trump’s invitation for Iranians to challenge their government for their own security.
“So the real question is, can there be an alternative to this rigid clerical regime? Can another leader step up, and [could] people and those involved in the state meet in that person? And I’m not sure that’s a base case,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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