Middle East & Africa | Tehran’s calculus

Iran’s leader must choose how to fight his war with Israel

Hardliners may force the supreme leader to escalate the conflict with Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Photograph: Reuters
|DUBAI

SAFE to say it is not how he pictured his dotage. Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, wanted to spend his final years shoring up his creaky dictatorship. Instead he has spent 2024 burying his hand-picked president and approving risky strikes on Israel: hardly a recipe for stability.

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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The calculus”

From the October 12th 2024 edition

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