You might think this regime has unity—that if they eat the meat together, they won’t throw the bones away—but the reality is: the threat of eliminating each other at the highest levels is so widespread and severe that it has created this obligation for them to stand together.

For their survival, the first eliminatory move of Khamenei was the key piece—him and his family.

The destruction of the Islamic Republic isn’t far off; from within it is cracking like a corn cob.