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A former Nato commander has said the US's killing of Ayatollah Khamenei was "as subtle as murdering the Pope in front of St Peter's" as he warned the Iran war will last much longer than anticipated.
Speaking to LBC's Andrew Marr Tonight, the former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Nato, General Sir Richard Shirreff said that the conflict which began on Saturday could turn out to be similar to "Iraq to the power of 10".
He said: "I suspect this thing will run on much, much longer than anticipated.
"It may be that the Iranians are running out and running short of ammunition.
"But what is missing completely from any discussion coming from the other side of the Atlantic is any clarity of strategy, any clarity of end state, or, it seems, any understanding of the impact of what they're doing on the minds of the Iranian people."
On the US's assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the initial salvo of the war, Sir Richard said: "The reality is that Khamenei was not just the Iranian head of state; he was a religious symbol.
"He was a religious symbol for worldwide Shiites.
"And by assassinating him, he is now effectively a martyred saint.
"And that is, frankly, about as subtle as murdering the Pope on the steps of St. Peter's and the Americans need to have thought all this through.
"And the fact that they haven't, I think, is a real worry, a real indicator that this thing could well turn into something like Iraq to the power of 10."
