• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Iranian Power Politics

Over the course of the past year, tensions between Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have increased.

Link Copied
Published on Sep 16, 2011
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

Source: Brian Lehrer Show

Over the course of the past year, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has increasingly fallen out of favor with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking on the Brian Lehrer Show, Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour asserted that this distance between the two men was “bound to happen.” Khamenei was essentially using Ahmadinejad as a bludgeon against his domestic opponents, Sadjadpour explained. However, Khamenei is stronger now than he has ever been and this has made Ahmadinejad dispensable. Ahmadinejad’s inability to have the two jailed American hikers released “evidences how much he has been emasculated within the Iranian domestic political context," Sadjadpour argued. He predicted that tensions between Ahmadinejad and his allies and Khamenei seem likely to continue, since Ahmadinejad seems unwilling to continue being simply Khamenei’s lieutenant. 

Political ReformMiddle EastIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Climate desalination plant Saudi Arabia
    Paper
    Ecological Statecraft in the Midst of War: Water, Regeneration, and the Future of Gulf Security

    The U.S.-Iran war has crossed a dangerous threshold: water infrastructure in the Gulf is now a target. Ecological statecraft is no longer peripheral to security, it's part of its foundations.

      • Ali Bin Shahid

      Olivia Lazard, Ali Bin Shahid

  • Article
    Palestine’s Climate Change Planning Faces Its Limits

    Barriers ranging from weak legal frameworks to ongoing, occupation-related limitations are constraining Palestine from achieving its ambitious climate targets.

      Joy Arkeh, Nabil Nasser

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Corrupted by Absolute Power

    In an interview, Marc Lynch discusses his new book decrying the post-1990 U.S.-dominated order in the Middle East.

      Michael Young

  • Trump and others walking down a red carpet, with Air Force One in the background
    Commentary
    Emissary
    “China Doesn’t Do Anything for Free”

    Why the outcomes of the U.S.-China meetings may be limited.


      Aaron David Miller, David Rennie

  • A drone flies in front of an Iranian flag in southern Tehran, Iran
    Article
    The Unintended Consequences of Iran’s Asymmetric Strategy and America’s AI War

    The Iran war is unique in the scope and scale of asymmetric warfare and AI-enabled conflict. These will test the limits of protecting civilians.

      Steve Feldstein

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.