'Or does he leave succession to the Assembly of Experts and what he would believe to be divine guidance?'
- Something does not sound right here. I would expect the supreme leader to be informed by facts provided by intelligence not by 'divine guidance.' You guys should know better.
Thank you. I'm sure he does take into account the teachings of Islam and it's divine guidance. That Iran is a defensive country that is against the use of nuclear weapons is inline with the teachings of Islam. That would be an example of divine guidance. I guess what I meant was that when it comes to choosing a successor the Supreme Leader will find a highly qualified person, most certainly someone who studied in Qom, but who can also grasp all the nuances of dealing with Israel and the US. It will be a very practical decision based on intelligence without involving any rays of light from the clouds if you will.
If opposition to nuclear weapons is part of Islam why does Pakistan have a nuclear weapon and why are Saudi, Turkey and Iran implicitly or explicitly threatening to build one?
My point in the sentence that elicited your original response was that Khamenei may choose not to designate a successor based on his trust in divine guidance. One scenario is that he chooses someone else. Another is that he does not. In both cases he would claim divine guidance.
The ethos of Modad Geopolitics is to think like the people we analyse think.
'Or does he leave succession to the Assembly of Experts and what he would believe to be divine guidance?'
- Something does not sound right here. I would expect the supreme leader to be informed by facts provided by intelligence not by 'divine guidance.' You guys should know better.
It "does not sound right" that the leader of a theocracy believes in divine guidance?
Thank you. I'm sure he does take into account the teachings of Islam and it's divine guidance. That Iran is a defensive country that is against the use of nuclear weapons is inline with the teachings of Islam. That would be an example of divine guidance. I guess what I meant was that when it comes to choosing a successor the Supreme Leader will find a highly qualified person, most certainly someone who studied in Qom, but who can also grasp all the nuances of dealing with Israel and the US. It will be a very practical decision based on intelligence without involving any rays of light from the clouds if you will.
If opposition to nuclear weapons is part of Islam why does Pakistan have a nuclear weapon and why are Saudi, Turkey and Iran implicitly or explicitly threatening to build one?
My point in the sentence that elicited your original response was that Khamenei may choose not to designate a successor based on his trust in divine guidance. One scenario is that he chooses someone else. Another is that he does not. In both cases he would claim divine guidance.
The ethos of Modad Geopolitics is to think like the people we analyse think.