The New York Times revealed, based on information from high-level Iranian sources, that Iranian Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has expanded the powers of the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to manage state affairs during this critical period that Iran is going through.
Officials and those close to Khamenei reported that his appreciation for the Revolutionary Guards is partly due to his recent assumption of the position, in addition to his not enjoying the political immunity and religious influence that his father enjoyed. The strong personal ties that linked him to the Guard leaders also contributed greatly to consolidating this reality.
According to the sources, Khamenei has remained out of the limelight since his appointment as Supreme Leader, coinciding with the beginning of the war, and has not appeared in public since then, amid news circulating that he was injured in a previous bombing.
In a related context, the roots of the relationship between Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards go back to his youth, when he volunteered to fight in the Iran-Iraq war as part of the “Habib Battalion,” where close relationships developed between him and a number of its members, who later held prominent military and intelligence positions.
The sources explained that Khamenei continued his religious studies until he obtained the rank of “Ayatollah,” and worked in his father’s office, where he was responsible for coordinating military and intelligence operations, which strengthened his relationship with senior security leaders.
The newspaper reported that among his most prominent associates were the cleric Hussein Tayeb and General Mohsen Rezaei, in addition to Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf, who with him formed what is known as the “triangle of power,” and they held periodic meetings to discuss political and security files.
She pointed out that these personal relationships have directly affected the nature of governance, as Khamenei deals with military leaders on an equal footing, in light of a system that relies on multiple decision-making centers and a balance of power between institutions.
The sources confirmed that political influence in Iran is not limited to the military leaders, but the current stage is witnessing clear control of the security establishment, without any evidence of divisions occurring within it.
In the same context, Time magazine saw that recent developments reflect the increasing concentration of power in the hands of a military-security structure, in light of increasing external pressure and limited internal options.
She explained that this structure includes the Revolutionary Guard, the Supreme National Security Council, and political figures linked to the security establishment, noting that the separation between political and military decisions has become almost non-existent, as war and diplomacy files are managed within one integrated framework.
She concluded by noting that political figures, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, work within this system that mixes diplomatic work and military strategy, in a scene that reflects the restructuring of the balance of power within Iran.
