Ayatollah Khomeini

Frenemies With Benefits
Iran and Israel maintained a covert relationship after the revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power, continuing to engage in trade worth millions of dollars per year, even as Iran publicly denied Israel’s right to exist. This shows that the Iranian regime is and has historically been a rational actor.

What the Rushdie Attack Means
Since the attack on the novelist, Iran’s newspapers have kept up a steady stream of invective against Rushdie. To understand why Tehran persists in criticizing Rushdie even after the death of Khomeini, it is essential to understand where the fatwa sits in its current identity.