Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends an Ashura ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on July 5.
Source: Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images
Iran Supreme Leader Hints at Change to Unite Country
Senior clerics and military figures are looking to leverage Iran’s nationalist history to try and forge unity in the polarized country.
For almost four decades Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has defined his rule and Iran’s place in the world through his hostility to Israel and the US. Last month that enmity culminated in a military attack on the Islamic Republic when Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Tehran and across the country.
The assault embarrassed the leadership, which had been caught off guard, and while the Supreme Leader survived the 12-day conflict and a US bombing raid on Iran’s key nuclear sites, more than 1,000 Iranians, mostly civilians, didn’t. Some of Iran’s most powerful military figures were assassinated. The fallout has intensified scrutiny of the 86-year-old cleric — the ultimate authority in Iran — and raised questions about how long he can remain in power, who or what might replace him and what that means for a country at the heart of the Middle East with an economy sapped by years of sanctions.
