85 reports
Iran's leadership, internal decision-making and strategy under its current Supreme Leader, covering power centers and appointments in Tehran, the Revolutionary Guards' posture, the regime's response to war, sanctions and regime-change pressure, and Iran's diplomacy with its neighbors and major powers.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed after his father Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the 2026 war, has consolidated a wartime command as Tehran faces crushing economic pressure, an openly declared regime-change agenda and the risk of renewed US strikes, while contacts with Washington are splitting the conservative camp: by 8 October 2026 a group of conservative MPs had demanded that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi be held accountable and face possible impeachment over his US contacts.
This intelligence cluster tracks Mohsen Rezaei's replacement of Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as SNSC Secretary and his direct channel with Qatar's National Security Council on a temporary Hormuz shipping corridor, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Ahmad Vahidi's return to prominence, President Masoud Pezeshkian's role, and the IRGC's preventive military, economic and security measures against regime change; Iran's response to Trump's economic D-Day and Operation Economic Outcast sanctions on crypto, gold, aviation and shipping; the Baghdad missions of Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani over Iran-backed factions; Araghchi's channels with Saudi Arabia, including on reining in the Houthis, with Kuwait, and with China through his 16 September talks with Wang Yi in Beijing; Iran's reading of the postponed Iran-GCC Hormuz meeting; and Tehran's recalibrated trust in Russia and China.
Built for Iran-watchers, sanctions desks, US policy advisors and Gulf foreign-ministry analysts.
