Tehran, Feb. 20 -- Iran's brief war with Israel last year exposed significant strains within Iran's command structure, with reports suggesting that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had become increasingly difficult to reach as hostilities intensified between the two countries, forcing provincial officials to seize greater authority.
In the aftermath of this exposure, Tehran has reportedly moved to tighten its national security architecture and rectify this gap in its theocratic command structure.
The Supreme National Security Council, which for long has been a central decision-making forum in Tehran, has been reinforced and restructured; now spearheaded by senior political figure and Khamenei's top aide Ali Larijani.
Alongside the council, a ...