Power — Politics, Hidden and Open
Coups, actors, and the hidden record — each statement with one of three confidence labels (fact / contested / allegation) and a source.
The Edifice of Power
A cross-section of the system — appointed from above, elected from below
Supreme Leader
🟢 Documented structureHighest authority; commander-in-chief, sets general state policy, appoints/dismisses the judiciary head, state broadcasting, and military commanders.
Chosen and supervised by the Assembly of Experts (for life, barring removal).
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Ancient & medieval intrigues
Constitution, oil, and coups
Islamic Republic: coups, groups, war
Cyber, sabotage, assassination
Protester casualties & '18/19 Dey'
Media, propaganda, and the economy
The 28 Mordad 1332 coup — an actor graph
1953 · TPAJAXThe overthrow of Mosaddegh by the CIA/MI6 — with an interactive map of the actors (foreign powers, the court, the army, the clergy) and sources.
Full story →Summer of 1360 — 7 Tir and 8 Shahrivar
1981 · timelineThe bombing of the Party headquarters (Beheshti and 72 others killed) and the Prime Minister's office (Rajai and Bahonar killed) — an interactive timeline, the perpetrators (Kolahi, Keshmiri) and sources, with confidence labels.
See the timeline →The Axis of Resistance — a neutral profile
neutralHezbollah, the PMF, the Houthis, Syria, Palestinian groups — a multi-source description, each claim with attribution and a confidence label.
See all →The opposition and diaspora media
multi-sourceThe MEK, Reza Pahlavi, the Kurdish parties, reformists/principlists, and the media (Iran International, BBC, Manoto, Voice of America) — neutral, with criticism from several sides.
See all →History repeats — patterns of past and present
then ⇄ nowThe ceding of resources, popular boycott, the foreign hand, great-power rivalry — past⇄present pairs, each side sourced; the reader weighs the balance.
See the patterns →The structure of the Islamic Republic — how it works
how it worksThe Leader, the Assembly of Experts, the Guardian Council, the presidency, the Majlis, the judiciary, the IRGC and elections — neutral and multi-source, separating «on paper» from «in practice».
See the structure →