The strikes that killed Iran's leaders backfired, leaving hardliners in charge and the whole Gulf region more dangerous — bad news for oil markets, Iran's neighbors, and ordinary Iranians.

• A US-Israeli bombing campaign killed Iran's supreme leader and most of its top brass, but the replacements are all hardliners from the Revolutionary Guard who refuse to deal with Washington.
• The moderates who wanted talks were assassinated, so the men now running Iran are demanding the US lift the blockade, pull out its forces, and pay reparations before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran is threatening to keep the strait shut until 2029, which would choke a huge share of the world's oil, while Yemen's Houthi rebels may close a second key shipping lane too.
• Iran's economy is collapsing — inflation near 90%, oil exports crushed by the blockade, and bread lines forming in major cities.
• At home the new rulers are cracking down hard, with executions surging and public hangings back for the first time in years.

Outlook: With only hardliners left in power, expect a longer standoff over Hormuz, more attacks across the Gulf, and worsening misery inside Iran.