{"id":42117,"date":"2026-04-05T18:26:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=42117"},"modified":"2026-04-05T18:26:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:26:34","slug":"irans-ruling-ideology-driving-global-confrontation-analysts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=42117","title":{"rendered":"Iran’s ruling ideology driving global confrontation, analysts say"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For Mehdi Ghadimi, the ideology behind Iran\u2019s ruling system<\/a> is not theoretical. It was something he was taught from childhood.<\/p>\n

“You were told you are a part a small group chosen by God\u2026 to revive God\u2019s religion and fight to defend it,” the Iranian journalist told Fox News Digital, describing the message repeated in schools, mosques and state media.<\/p>\n

That early indoctrination, he said, framed the world in stark terms: a divine struggle between good and evil, with Iran\u2019s leadership positioned at the center of a religious mission.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s ruling system is often described in political terms, but critics and former insiders say its core is far more radical \u2014 a belief structure rooted in religious absolutism, messianic expectation and a worldview that leaves little room for compromise.<\/p>\n

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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A banner featuring Iran\u2019s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is displayed in Tehran, Iran, March 14, 2026.<\/span> (Fatemeh Bahrami\/Anadolu)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As a new generation of commanders rises within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following recent military blows under Operation Epic Fury, analysts warn that this ideology may become even more entrenched.<\/p>\n

Figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ahmad Vahidi are often cited as part of a cohort shaped by years of conflict in Iraq and across the region \u2014 one that sees religion, security and survival as inseparable.<\/p>\n

A belief system, not just a government<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At the center of that worldview is the belief in the Mahdi \u2014 a messianic figure in Shiite Islam whose return is expected to usher in a final era of justice after chaos.<\/p>\n

Twelver Shiism is the dominant belief for Shias, the Mahdi, identified as the 12th Imam, is alive but hidden and will one day return. Iran\u2019s political system positions the Supreme Leader as his caretaker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Critics say that framework gives political authority a religious dimension that can make it difficult to challenge.<\/p>\n

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Primary school girls in traditional headscarves sit in a classroom, Tehran, Iran, October 1, 1997.\u00a0<\/span> (Kaveh Kazemi\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“For the mullahs in Iran, the Mahdi idea is less about personal faith and more about power,” said Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and editor-in-chief at The Foreign Desk. “They use it to suggest that the Supreme Leader\u2019s views are not just political opinions, but carry a kind of divine weight.”<\/p>\n

“The system is set up so that disagreeing with the leader can be portrayed as questioning the Hidden Imam himself,” she said.<\/p>\n

“That turns ordinary policy debates into something almost untouchable\u2026 you\u2019re no longer arguing with a politician, you\u2019re seen as pushing back against a sacred figure.”<\/p>\n

IRAN’S CEASEFIRE PUSH MAY BE A ‘CYCLE OF DECEPTION,’ ANALYSTS WARN AS SHADOWY FIGURE GAINS POWER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Commanders and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 17, 2023.<\/span> (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader\/WANA\/Reuters)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

No real moderates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ghadimi argues that this structure leaves little room for genuine political diversity.<\/p>\n

“Groups labeled as \u2018moderate,\u2019 \u2018reformist,\u2019 or \u2018pro-Western\u2019 are created so that the West can negotiate with them,” he said.<\/p>\n

“No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world<\/a> and establishing Islamic dominance globally.”<\/p>\n

From belief to action<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For Iran expert, Daftari, the Mahdi doctrine<\/a> also provides a flexible justification for policy.<\/p>\n

“A lot of insiders know perfectly well that this language is being used strategically,” she said. “The Mahdi story gives the leadership a way to claim moral and religious cover for decisions that are often about preserving the regime or expanding its reach.”<\/p>\n

“When they talk about \u2018preparing the ground\u2019 for the Mahdi, that phrase can be stretched to cover almost anything \u2014 crushing protests, backing militias abroad, or asking people to accept more economic pain.”<\/p>\n

“This religious framing makes compromise much harder,” she added. “If you convince your base that you are carrying out a holy mission\u2026 backing down can be painted as a betrayal of God\u2019s plan.”<\/p>\n

MEET IRAN’S HARDLINE SPEAKER WHO THREATENED TO BURN US FORCES \u2014 REPORTEDLY TEHRAN’S POINT MAN FOR TALKS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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A billboard depicting Iran’s supreme leaders since 1979: (L to R) Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) is displayed above a highway in Tehran on March 10, 2026. Iran marked the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father as its supreme leader on March 9, 2026.\u00a0<\/span> (AFP\/Via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A worldview shaped early<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ghadimi said that message is reinforced from childhood, shaping how generations understand their role in society.<\/p>\n

In schools, media and mosques<\/a>, he said, ideology was embedded into everyday life, leaving little space for alternative narratives.<\/p>\n

That framing, analysts say, helps explain how the system sustains itself even under pressure.<\/p>\n

It also contributes to a worldview in which conflict is not temporary, but part of a larger, ongoing struggle.<\/p>\n

“The Islamic government, based on its own interpretation of the Quran<\/a>, considers itself obligated to enforce Islamic law across the entire world,” Iranian journalist Mehdi Ghadimi told Fox News Digital, adding that the regime “sees itself as the leader of this belief globally.”<\/p>\n

“They harbor hatred toward Iranians and Jews, whom they regard as enemies of Islam since its very beginning, and they consider killing them\u2014such as on Oct. 7 and in the recent killings in Iran \u2014 to be divinely rewarded acts, much like the beliefs once held by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” he said.<\/p>\n

“No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance globally,” Ghadimi said.<\/p>\n

In that framework, critics say, Iran is not simply pursuing national interests but acting within what it sees as a broader religious mandate.<\/p>\n

INSIDE IRAN\u2019S MILITARY: MISSILES, MILITIAS AND A FORCE BUILT FOR SURVIVAL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands as air force commanders salute during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.\u00a0<\/span> (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader\/AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Violence and belief<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Some critics argue that within this framework, violence can take on religious meaning.<\/p>\n

“They consider killing them\u2026 to be divinely rewarded acts,” Ghadimi said.<\/p>\n

Still, analysts say the combination of messianic belief and absolutist ideology<\/a> creates a system in which confrontation is not only expected, but justified.<\/p>\n

A cycle with no easy exit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

An Iranian official rejected those characterizations and warned that economic collapse and destruction caused by war could drive long-term resentment.<\/p>\n

“If a country is turned into ruins, poverty spreads. Out of such poverty comes hatred, resentment, and a desire for revenge, and this cycle of hostility can continue for years. It is not correct to think that everything will simply end the day after a ceasefire. Even if there were no hostile government left in place, people within society who have lost everything may still be driven to seek retribution.”<\/p>\n

For Ghadimi, the issue is not just how Iran behaves, but how it understands itself.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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People gather in Revolution Square to mourn the killing of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in a joint Israel-U.S. operation, in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2026.<\/span> (Kaveh Kazemi\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

If the system is rooted in a belief that blends religion, power and mission, critics say, then policies like repression at home and confrontation abroad may not be temporary tactics but structural features.<\/p>\n

And if moderation within that system is limited, as some argue, then the challenge for policymakers is not simply negotiation, but understanding the ideology that drives it.<\/p>\n

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Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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