In Iran’s Sham Runoff Election, Two Rivals Vie To Serve as the Supreme Leader’s Yes-Man

"The winner of Iran’s Friday runoff election will be described in news headlines as either a benevolent “reformist” or a heartless “hardiner.” In reality, Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili merely compete to become the Supreme Leader’s yes-man. […] UANI has recently issued a report on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’s election manipulations designed to fit the Supreme Leader’s agenda. The 85-year-old Mr. Khamenei is “laser focused on the succession, and for him someone who calls himself a reformist is a risky gamble,” UANI’s Mr. Brodsky says. Other analysts counter that to appease anti-regime sentiments that are growing on Iranian streets, Mr. Khamanei might actually be rooting for Mr. Pezeshkian to win on Friday. Either way, however, the winner would mostly do the Supreme Leader’s bidding. At the same time, if Mr. Khamenei is incapacitated or if he dies, the elected president will hold one of three caretakers who would determine policies. That is likely a reason for Mr. Khamenei to opt for Mr. Jalili, who is closer to his own ideology than Mr. Pezeshkian."