The cardboard cutout that is Iran’s new Supreme Leader
"The Economist explains away this loving eulogy by saying it writes the obituaries the dead would have written for themselves were they still alive. And yes, that is weird and non-journalistic."
"Here’s the funniest story of the week, maybe the year: The IRGC, having bullied the surviving members of Iran’s ruling council into nominating as the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the very dead former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was reduced to putting up a cardboard cutout of Mojtaba at the official announcement. The reason is that he was seriously injured in the attack that killed his father (and his mother and wife). Rumor is that he lost a leg and may be unconscious or even dead.
"While Normals had a blast coming up with memes reflecting that cardboard cutout moment, certain segments of the media had a different approach to Iran’s Supreme Leaders, with one lovingly eulogizing Ali Khamenei and the other trying to say that Mojtaba is really just like Trump.
"Allegedly, the late Ali Khamenei was very explicit: Do not make my son Mojtaba the Supreme Leader when I die. Not only was he concerned about nepotism, as one analyst summed it up, Khamenei senior understood that his son was “an impotent young cleric who has achieved nothing in terms of political life.” . . .
The cardboard cutout that is Iran’s new Supreme Leader
US President Donald Trump unveiled the cardboard Ayatollah 😂 pic.twitter.com/36LTML3O7s — Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) March 11, 2026
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| “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men". "Here’s the funniest story of the week, maybe the year: The IRGC, having bullied the surviving members of Iran’s ruling council into nominating as the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the very dead former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was reduced to putting up a cardboard cutout of Mojtaba at the official announcement. The reason is that he was seriously injured in the attack that killed his father (and his mother and wife). Rumor is that he lost a leg and may be unconscious or even dead.". . . |
2012: . . . "To this day the Ayatollah remains widely loved in Iran, and the anniversary of his return is commemorated each year with events across the country.
"As he passed away in 1989, personal appearances are sadly out of the question, but the Iranian authorities had a solution this year: three giant cardboard cutouts of the Ayatollah, each carried down the steps of a plane and then marched around the airport. On their short tour, the cardboard constructions ‘inspected’ lines of troops as soldiers saluted and looked dutifully serious.
"The bizarre and endearingly lo-fi ceremony ended with one of the cardboard Ayatollahs being paraded around the airport in an open-top army truck, as a marching band tooted its approval in the background. Wacky stuff indeed. Here are some more photos:" . . .
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