Iran's Leader

• The first pillar of this architecture is the military and security structure. The experience of the eight-year war shaped the conviction that security should not depend on external sources; consequently, the development of defense, missile, drone, air defense, and intelligence industries was pursued as a long-term strategy aimed not only at producing equipment, but at creating a sustainable structure independent of foreign support.
• The second pillar is the networked political structure that reduces the system's dependence on individuals. Decision-making, oversight, executive, and security institutions alongside elections, government, parliament, judiciary, and [text incomplete]. [Coverage-difference paragraph incomplete in source material]

# The Most Iranian Leader, the Most Enduring Legacy

**Summary by Reza Rahmati:** Among international reactions to the passing of Ayatollah Khamenei, Dr. Hamoud Al-Nofli from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman has emphasized not personal characteristics or political stances, but rather three "structures"—military, political, and financial. This choice suggests that his most important legacy should be sought in the formation of a type of "architecture of power" in the Islamic Republic, founded on these three pillars. Over the past four decades, Iran has faced crises such as war, sanctions, security threats, and diplomatic pressures, yet the political system has endured and maintained its capacity for reconstruction. This durability is largely attributable to the late leader's perspective on power—one that did not view it merely as military capability, but rather as a nexus of security, politics, economics, science, technology, and social capital.