🖋Reza Tabati, journalist

Alongside the structure of power in the Islamic Republic, there has always been a trace of “troublesome insiders” who do not hold official positions, but are so close to power circles that their words cannot be ignored.

Family ties, clerical dress, or affiliation with even a little-known group enable them to be informed of behind-the-scenes decisions, accuse or threaten government officials, and say things that trigger reactions and denials from the highest levels of power—while remaining in a safe perimeter of power and, after some time, returning with a new claim.

Mohammad-Baqer Kharazi has many of these characteristics.

A cleric without a government post, the secretary-general of an organization called “Hezbollah of Iran,” whose real weight and standing in Iran’s political landscape are not entirely clear, and a member of a family connected to the seminary (hawza), the diplomatic apparatus, and the Khamenei family.

Who is Mohammad-Baqer Kharazi, and why, despite such statements, can he still speak from within the government camp?

📸GettyImages/ Anadolu via Getty Images/ hamshahrionline/ AFP via Getty Images/ ISNA/ Donya-e-eqt