In Iran’s semi representative theocratic system, the elected President is a subordinate of the Supreme Leader, who is appointed by a group of senior clerics. In 2021, when Ebrahim Raisi became Iran’s eighth President, the establishment saw a hardline cleric, who had the confidence of the Supreme Leader, in the country’s highest elected office. Raisi was the man Iran’s conservatives …
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for “tens of thousands” of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the crackdown. “Khamenei’s hypocritical pardon doesn’t change anything,” wrote Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. All …
