Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once described his dream life in simple words, study hard, serve his faith, live long, and finally die as a martyr. Just over a year later, his wish came true, but in the cruellest way.
In February, the 86-year-old leader was killed during the first American and Israeli attacks on Iran. His followers called it the ending he had always wanted. On Thursday, after a six-day funeral procession that carried his coffin across Iran and into Iraq, he was buried in Mashhad, the holy city of his birth.
His death closed nearly 37 years of one-man rule. For all that time, Khamenei quietly controlled everything, the religious leaders, the army, the courts, and large parts of the economy. He built up the powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), a force that acts as both army and business empire. He backed armed groups across West Asia. And he crushed protests at home. In his final years, ironically, the anger of ordinary Iranians turned towards him.
Power has now passed to his son, Mojtaba. It is like a family business handed to the next generation. The son has the name but not yet the father’s grip or experience. He has no revolutionary background and no long years in power. Since taking charge in March, he has not appeared in public even once.
Officials say he is staying out of sight for security reasons and is still recovering from the attack that killed his father, wife, sister, brother-in-law, and baby niece. But this silence worries people. Iranians used to hearing their leader speak regularly are now simply asking: where is he?
Can this system survive? One insider told the Financial Times that even the old leader could no longer fix Iran’s problems, they had become too complicated, both inside the country and outside. The insider believed the son, backed by powerful institutions, might still open a new chapter.
In reality, power now rests heavily with the Revolutionary Guards. They control security, foreign policy, and a huge part of the economy. The recent war has only made them stronger. Mojtaba must also lean on religious charities, wealthy supporters, and allies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, though all of them are now weaker.
Iran’s troubles started long before the bombs. Years of sanctions had choked the economy. Prices soared, jobs disappeared, and savings melted away. Anyone who has seen a family struggle when the main earner loses work can understand what an entire nation was going through. In January, angry people poured onto the streets. The crackdown was brutal. Thousands died. The little trust left between rulers and the ruled was shattered.
Yet the funeral became a show of strength. Huge crowds lined the routes. The government declared that it had survived the war and still commanded loyalty. Leaders who had remained hidden for months appeared together, the new IRGC commander, the Parliament Speaker, the President, and the judiciary chief. Even a former president, rumoured dead, quietly resurfaced.
Only the new leader stayed away.
His first major decision gave a clear signal. Last month, he allowed President Pezeshkian to sign a deal reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea passage through which a large share of the world’s oil, including much of India’s, flows every day. He also permitted talks with America. In a written note, Mojtaba said he did not fully support the deal but permitted it because the top security council had already approved it. If the economy does not improve, the blame will fall on the President, not on him.
This careful balancing act is exactly what his father practised for decades. Practical leaders believe a deal with America is the only way out of crushing sanctions. Hardliners call it betrayal. At the funeral, crowds shouted “Death to America” and demanded revenge.
But leaning too far towards the hardliners is risky. Young Iranians and the urban middle class want fewer strict religious rules and more openness to the world. Push them too hard, and the streets could burn again.
The real test is still coming, a nuclear agreement with America that will demand painful compromises from Iran. This week, both sides traded air strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, showing how fragile any ceasefire really is.
Iran has entered a new and uncertain phase. Its leader is silent. Its people are exhausted. And the world is watching the vital sea gate that keeps its lamps burning.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own and do not reflect those of News24)
First published on: Jul 10, 2026 02:36 PM IST
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