Iran International
By elevating Mojtaba Khamenei—a figure most Iranians have never heard speak—the Islamic Republic has completed a long drift away from popular legitimacy.
For years, Mojtaba has operated largely behind the scenes within Iran’s political and security elite. The only public recording of his voice is a one-minute video in which he tells seminary students that his classes have been cancelled.
He appears to lack any significant public profile or popular following among the wider population—an element the Islamic Republic now seems increasingly unconcerned about.
Mojtaba played a significant role in the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 and has long been seen as influential in the expansion of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence and economic reach, as well as in policies used to suppress dissent.
His rise reflects the priorities of a system that now appears to value internal cohesion and security ties more than public stature.
The issue of choosing the supreme leader has always posed both a philosophical and practical challenge in the Islamic Republic. If the leader is the representative of God on earth and a successor to the Prophet Mohammad, the question is how that authority is conferred: through popular recognition or divine designation.
These two impulses have shaped debates over the nature of the Islamic Republic for decades. One emphasizes the system’s republican and electoral elements; the other gives primacy to its theocratic foundations.
Popularity factor
The question barely arose when Ruhollah Khomeini came to power. He embodied both elements: he enjoyed broad popular support and was among the most prominent religious figures of his time.
Khomeini’s ascendancy preceded the formal codification of the office of supreme leader. The robe, as a Persian expression would have it, was cut to his measure
This was reflected in the first constitution adopted after the 1979 revolution, which described the leader as one “recognized and accepted by the overwhelming majority of the people,” as was the case with Khomeini.
That provision was revised in 1989, when Ali Khamenei was selected as the second supreme leader. The reference to popular acceptance was removed, assigning the decision solely to the Assembly of Experts.
Yet popularity still mattered. Ali Khamenei did not hold a high religious rank at the time and was not yet an ayatollah. But after eight years as president he was a familiar national figure, and public recognition and political experience were judged more important than clerical standing.
Staying the course
The selection of Mojtaba suggests those considerations now carry far less weight. He has been elevated not because of religious stature, executive experience or public standing, but largely because of his ties to the security establishment.
If the Islamic Republic had followed its previous trajectory, it might have been expected to choose one of the former cleric presidents—most plausibly Hassan Rouhani, who in recent months appeared to be positioning himself for such a role.
By choosing Mojtaba, the Islamic Republic has effectively crossed a threshold. The system that once defined itself in opposition to hereditary rule now appears willing to tolerate it, prioritizing continuity and control over ideological consistency.
While officials have presented Mojtaba’s appointment as an emergency wartime decision, his decades of behind-the-scenes activity suggest a far longer process of consolidation.
His succession also narrows the already limited space for fundamental change.
As Iran confronts war with the United States and Israel abroad while continuing to face deep mistrust at home, the balance of power now points firmly toward continuity—and toward a system with little interest in resolving tensions either with its own society or with its adversaries.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.