{"id":8738,"date":"2026-03-04T05:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T11:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=8738"},"modified":"2026-03-10T17:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:28:17","slug":"8738","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2026\/03\/04\/8738\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t make these things up.\u00a0 Both of these are real, stories in today’s news, and are connected.\u00a0\u00a0First, the news many of us expected, that the Guardian Council would not follow Shia law and earlier pronouncements for several years by the Leader himself that his successor would be of Grand Ayatollah religious status.\u00a0 Instead, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, may be chosen, creating a monarchy.\u00a0 \u201cAyatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s Son Emerges as Leading Choice to Be His Successor,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cKhamenei is known for having close ties to the Revolutionary Guards. The Guards, according to the three officials, pushed for his appointment, arguing that he had the qualifications needed to steer Iran in this time of crisis.\u00a0 \u201cMojtaba is the wisest pick right now because he is intimately familiar with running and coordinating security and military apparatuses,\u201d said Mehdi Rahmati, an analyst in Tehran. \u201cHe was in charge of this already.\u201d\u201d\u00a0 BTW, when the Leader was killed Saturday, the Regime has announced that his wife and another son were killed in the same strike, along with the wife of Mojtaba.\u00a0 Second, what an ironic headline and story, which the critics will run with, the privileges of the wealthy, but also a symbol of what is wrong in Iran.\u00a0 See \u201cMojtaba Khamenei, set to lead Iran, underwent months of medical treatment for impotence in UK,\u201d<\/a> i24, 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDespite these personal health struggles, he has long wielded influence within the Supreme Leader\u2019s office, maintaining close ties with the IRGC and managing access to his father.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0There will be questions today by reporters for London\u2019s Wellington and Cromwell hospitals, why they allowed the son of a dictator to not only receive medical treatment, but which could result (as it did) to continue the bloodline (no pun intended) of the next Ali, named after his grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u201cVideo of moment US torpedo hits Iranian warship released by Pentagon,\u201d<\/a> BBC, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIranian missile intercepted by NATO air defenses before entering Turkish airspace | LIVE BLOG,\u201d<\/a> i24, 3-4-26.\u00a0 This is a story worth following.<\/p>\n

Big news.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cEXCLUSIVE: Thousands of Kurdish fighters launch ground offensive into Iran against regime, official says,\u201d<\/a> i24, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cDay 5: Israel vows to eliminate Khamenei\u2019s successor,\u201d<\/a> Jewish Insider, 3-4-26<\/p>\n

\u201cQatar PM calls for immediate halt to Iranian attacks,\u201d<\/a> Iran International 3-4-26.\u00a0 “Qatar\u2019s prime minister has called for an immediate halt to Iranian attacks on countries in the region, accusing Tehran of striking civilian areas inside the Gulf state. In a statement posted on X, Qatar\u2019s foreign ministry said Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made the remarks during a phone call with Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. According to the statement, Araghchi said Iranian missile strikes were aimed at US interests and did not target Qatar. Al Thani rejected the claim, saying the attacks hit civilian and residential areas, including near Hamad International Airport and industrial zones that house liquefied natural gas production facilities. The prime minister said such attacks violate Qatari sovereignty and warned that they \u201ccannot go unanswered,\u201d citing the country\u2019s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.”<\/p>\n

Iran is using schools and clinics as military outposts.\u00a0 (sounds like Hamas, right?\u00a0 Hamas was only copying what Iran was already doing).\u00a0 \u201cVideo: Iran’s armed forces based in a civilian sport center,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarijani says Trump will pay a ‘heavy price’ for killing Khamenei\u2019,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0Sounds like Larijani must be speaking from underground, as he is a target for not surrendering and continuing to direct affairs for the state (not the president).\u00a0 \u201cKilling Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will carry a heavy price for Donald Trump, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said in a message he posted on X.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Trump, with Netanyahu\u2019s clownish games you dragged the American nation into an unjust war with Iran,\u201d Larijani wrote.\u00a0 Larijani also claimed that more than 500 US troops had been killed in the conflict, a figure far higher than the US military says. The US military has reported six American service members killed so far.\u00a0 \u201cNow calculate whether, with more than 500 American troops killed in these past few days, it is still America First or Israel First?,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThe story is not over,\u201d he added. \u201cThe martyrdom of Imam Khamenei will have a heavy price for you.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSecurity forces shoot at people chanting behind windows,\u201d<\/a> Iran International 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0Larijani already knows it, but these orders to the military will be his downfall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran postpones Khamenei funeral as US-Israeli bombardment continues,\u201d<\/a> BBC, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran war: Trump says U.S. to offer insurance for Gulf shipping and escort tankers,\u201d<\/a> CNBC, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

Reality hurts Iran.\u00a0 But what hurts Al Jazeera is the opportunity for an easy story, as it so simple to confirm what Iran claims.\u00a0 Wonder why AJ won\u2019t?\u00a0 \u201cIRGC says Iran in \u2018complete control\u2019 of Strait of Hormuz amid Trump threats,\u201d<\/a> Al Jazeera, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cHundreds of drones target Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE amid Iran war,\u201d<\/a> Al Jazeera, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom shadow to power: who is Mojtaba Khamenei?,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran\u2019s Secret Outreach Highlights Trump\u2019s Challenge,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael says it knocked out Iran\u2019s cyber warfare headquarters,\u201d<\/a> Politico, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry that it is one of \u201cours\u201d that is reporting about the other side.\u00a0 The Times is trusted enough or at the same sort of level by international readers to trust this story.\u00a0 \u201cIranian TV and Social Media Project Defiant and Distorted View of the War,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOn Iran\u2019s official television networks and through a network of affiliated or sympathetic social media accounts, the country is striving to present a resolute image despite thousands of strikes from Israel and the United States that have hammered its cities, military bases and political leadership. It is waging an information war parallel to the real-world fighting, blending fact and fiction, often using unproven claims and fake videos generated using artificial intelligence. In Tehran\u2019s telling, Iranian missiles have ravaged Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, its jets have decimated an American aircraft carrier, and hundreds of Americans have been killed at bases and embassies around the region. The messages convey resilience, presenting the country as not only fighting back but winning. \u2026 [O]ne senior official saying in a statement aired on state television that its \u201cextensive and successful operation\u201d against Israel and other countries had \u201cleft all military experts in awe.\u201d\u00a0 \u2026 PressTV, one of Iran\u2019s state broadcasters that airs in English and French, posted a video on X that seemed generated by A.I., describing a high-rise building in Bahrain aflame after Iranian airstrikes. (The post was later removed.)\u201d\u00a0 When you look at the fairly high-quality image of the hotel, you can see why some people would be fooled.\u00a0 But once you hear that PressTV is doing such (they\u2019ve been telling mistruths for years), you should move away from them.\u00a0 Many of us did years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Are Finally Free From Khamenei\u2019s Suffocating Gaze,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIn the middle of a summer night, plainclothes police officers and militiamen raided a dormitory at the University of Tehran. Students earlier that day protested the closure of a reformist newspaper, and for that they were punished. The militiamen broke into their rooms, set their beds and belongings on fire and threw several of the students out of windows. Four were killed, and hundreds were wounded or detained.\u201d\u00a0 It goes on, describing several events over the years involving the Leader\u2019s framed picture on the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael Is Blowing Up Iran\u2019s Police State to Clear the Way for a Revolt,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-4-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAirstrikes have targeted organizations responsible for suppressing protests and cracking down on separatists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iran war has been a stunning aerial success,\u201d<\/a> Economist, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cUS air defenses may not be able to intercept many of Iran\u2019s one-way drones,\u201d<\/a> CNN, 3-4-26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don’t make these things up.\u00a0 Both of these are real, stories in today’s news, and are connected.\u00a0\u00a0First, the news many of us expected, that the Guardian Council would not follow Shia law and earlier pronouncements for several years by the Leader himself that his successor would be of Grand Ayatollah religious status.\u00a0 Instead, his … <\/p>\n

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