Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Iran Power Struggle Looms After President’s Death

Iran Power Struggle Looms After President’s Death

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 20: People holding photos gathering at Valiasr Square mourn the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian and other Iranian officials in a helicopter crash on Sunday in Iran, during a ceremony in Tehran on May 20, 2024. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Even before the body of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was found, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader, tweeted an exhortation for calm. “The nation doesn't need to be worried or anxious,” he said, “as the administration of the country will not be disrupted at all.”

No disruption at all. Put another way, the bland and repressive Raisi would not be missed, not even by his patron. 

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

A Nuclear Day of the Jackal

BOOK REVIEW: The Moldavian GambitBy Brad Meslin / Manhattan Book GroupReviewed by: James LawlerThe Reviewer — James Lawler devoted more than half of [...] More

Ukraine’s Defense may Hinge on Offensive Operations

Ukraine’s Defense may Hinge on Offensive Operations

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – Russia has been bombarding Ukrainian cities with massive aerial assaults, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged [...] More

CIA's Latest Existential Challenge

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION -- Today, the Central Intelligence Agency faces a crisis of trust. While CIA officers have long confronted adversaries [...] More

Report for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

8:45 AM America/New_York Wednesday, July 16 [...] More

China Can Do More to Improve Relations with the U.S.

OPINION — Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the ASEAN Summit. Rubio described the [...] More

Report for Tuesday, July 15, 2025

8:57 AM America/New_York Tuesday, July 15 [...] More

How the Danes See NATO, Trump and Ukraine

OPINION — “The most important part right now is that Europe would be able to buy military equipment here in the U.S. so we can donate these military [...] More

The China Challenge – Some Fresh, Some Familiar Insights

BOOK REVIEW: LESSONS FROM THE NEW COLD WAR: AMERICA CONFRONTS THE CHINA CHALLENGEBy Hal Brands (Editor) /Johns Hopkins University PressReviewed by: [...] More