A New Era and New Leadership: The Generals Who Are Running Iran

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/world/middleeast/iran-new-leadership-generals.html

A New Era and New Leadership: The Generals Who Are Running Iran
The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ushered in a new form of collective leadership in the country, with more power for the Revolutionary Guards.
By Farnaz Fassihi
April 23, 2026

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Mr. Khamenei, who was selected by a council of senior clerics as the new supreme leader, has been in hiding since American and Israeli forces bombed his father’s compound on Feb. 28, where he also lived with his family. His father, wife and son were all killed. Access to him is extremely difficult and limited now. He is surrounded mostly by a team of doctors and medical staff who are treating the injuries he sustained in the airstrikes.

Senior commanders of the Guards and senior government officials do not visit him, fearing that Israel may trace them to him and kill him. President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is also a heart surgeon, and the minister of health have both been involved in his care.

Though Mr. Khamenei was gravely wounded, he is mentally sharp and engaged, according to four senior Iranian officials familiar with his health. One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery.

The combination of concern for his safety, his injuries and the sheer challenge of reaching him has resulted in Mr. Khamenei’s delegating decision making to the generals, at least for now. Reformist factions, as well as ultra-hard-liners, are still involved in political discussions. But analysts say that Mr. Khamenei’s close ties to the generals, whom he grew up with when he volunteered to fight in the Iran-Iraq war as a teenager, have made them the dominant force.

President Trump has said that the war, along with the killings of layers of Iran’s leaders and security establishment, has ushered in “regime change” and that the new leaders are “much more reasonable.” In reality, the Islamic republic has not been toppled. Power is now in the hands of an entrenched, hard-line military, and the broad influence of the clerics is waning.

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[Lovie777]

1. Probably Iran's plan..........................

they had a plan, shithole still doesn't have one.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. Just a shame for the people of Iran

The opposition has been rendered extinct, the power is now unchallenged. And this war has allowed Iran to increases revenues significantly as Trump removed some tariffs on Iranian oil and they're now collecting tolls at the strait.

The hardliners in the military couldn't have dreamed of a better scenario.