The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new Supreme Leader represents one of the most consequential political shifts in the Islamic Republic in more than three decades. For the first time since the 1979 Revolution, supreme authority has passed directly from father to son. The Assembly of Experts confirmed Mojtaba around a week after the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, in a US-Israeli strike that wiped out a substantial portion of Iran’s senior leadership. With that decision, days of speculation over a possible vacuum at the summit of power were brought to a close, at a moment when Iran had already entered a major war.

Who is Iran's new Supreme Leader? How was he shaped, and what ideas define him? What is his relationship with Iran’s institutions? What scenarios lie ahead for the country? And what form will the day after the war take?

The Autocrat’s Achilles' Heel

[caption id="attachment_55255491" align="aligncenter" width="3836"] Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) enter the hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace on July 4,…

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Another Grand Coalition Takes Shape in Berlin

[caption id="attachment_55255416" align="aligncenter" width="5268"] German Chancellor and head of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel (L) and leader of the German Social Democrats (SPD…

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How Sharp Power Threatens Soft Power

[caption id="attachment_55255411" align="aligncenter" width="3281"] Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony in Beijing's Great…

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Syria: “A Problem from Hell”

[caption id="attachment_55255397" align="alignleft" width="5558"] A Syrian opposition fighter takes a selfie as fighters walk through Syria in front of Turkish troops near the Syrian border at Hassa,…

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Why Globalization Stalled

[caption id="attachment_55255345" align="aligncenter" width="4256"] US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping leave a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in…

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Containing Russia, Again

[caption id="attachment_55255343" align="aligncenter" width="3882"] Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his New Year address to Russians in central Moscow on December 31, 2017.(Getty)[/caption] …

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How ISIS’ Strategy Is Evolving

[caption id="attachment_55255339" align="aligncenter" width="4409"] In this photograph taken on April 11, 2017, an Afghan security force personnel patrols inside a mosque during an ongoing an…

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