Not long ago, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was in an enviable position. Manipulating the levers of power from behind the scenes, the 70-year-old turbaned cleric with oversized glasses was credited with every pragmatic decision taken by the Islamic Republic. Iran’s belligerence and extremism, meanwhile, were conveniently laid at the feet of the firebrand president, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. When the supreme leader spoke, he delivered the last word. No one dared contradict him, or offer an alternative opinion.