By Mehdi Khalaji WASHINGTON, DC: As the West ratchets up its economic pressure on Iran to halt its drive to develop nuclear weapons, the Islamic Republic’s rulers are not sitting idly by. Since Iran lacks the soft power and the economic capacity to counter Western pressure, it is likely that its leaders will resort to threats, …

By Mehdi Khalaji WASHINGTON, DC: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now made the mistake that all Iranian presidents make: he has challenged the authority of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is doomed to fail. The challenge posed by Ahmadinejad is such a predictable part of Iranian politics that it has come to be known as …

By Mehdi Khalaji WASHINGTON, DC: Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has never been happy about the status of the Iranian presidency — neither during his own tenure, from 1981-1989, nor during the terms of his three successors. Tension between the president and the Supreme Leader is built into the Islamic Republic’s core. The Supreme Leader …