For Mehdi Ghadimi, the ideology behind Iran’s system of government is not theoretical. It was something he was taught since childhood.
That early indoctrination, he said, painted the world in stark terms: a divine battle between good and evil, with Iran’s leadership at the center of a religious mission.
Iran’s system of government is often described in political terms, but critics and former insiders say its core is far more radical: a belief structure rooted in religious absolutism, messianic expectations and a worldview that leaves little room for compromise.
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A banner featuring Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is displayed in Tehran, March 14, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
As a new generation of commanders emerges within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following the recent military battles during Operation Epic Fury, analysts warn that this ideology could become even more entrenched.
Figures like Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ahmad Vahidi are often cited as part of a cohort shaped by years of conflict in Iraq and across the region – a group that sees religion, security and survival as inseparable.
A belief system, not just a government
Central to that worldview is belief in the Mahdi – a messianic figure in Shia Islam whose return is expected to usher in a final era of justice after chaos.
Twelver Shiism is the dominant faith for Shias, the Mahdi, identified as the 12th Imam, is alive but hidden and will one day return. The Iranian political system positions the supreme leader as its caretaker.
Critics say this framework gives political authority a religious dimension, making it difficult to challenge.
Primary school girls wearing traditional headscarves sit in a classroom, Tehran, Iran, October 1, 1997. (Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)
“For Iran’s mullahs, the Mahdi idea is less about personal faith and more about power,” said Lisa Daftari, a foreign policy analyst and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk. “They use it to suggest that the Supreme Leader’s views are not just political opinions, but carry some kind of divine weight.”
“The system is set up in such a way that disagreeing with the leader can be portrayed as interrogating the hidden imam himself,” she said.
“That turns ordinary policy debates into something almost untouchable… you are no longer arguing with a politician, you are seen as someone who is opposing a holy figure.”
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Commanders and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on August 17, 2023. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Reuters)
No real moderates
Ghadimi argues that this structure leaves little room for real political diversity.
“Groups labeled as ‘moderate’, ‘reformist’ or ‘pro-Western’ are created so that the West can negotiate with them,” he said.
“No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic is thinking of anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance worldwide.”
From belief to action
For Iran expert Daftari, the Mahdi doctrine also offers a flexible justification for policy.
“Many insiders are well aware that this language is used strategically,” she said. “The Mahdi story offers leaders a way to claim moral and religious cover for decisions that are often about preserving the regime or expanding its reach.”
“When they talk about ‘preparing the ground’ for the Mahdi, that phrase can be extended to almost anything: crushing protests, supporting militias abroad or asking people to accept more economic pain.”
“This religious framework makes compromise much more difficult,” she added. “If you convince your base that you are carrying out a sacred mission… withdrawing could be portrayed as a betrayal of God’s plan.”
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On March 10, 2026, a billboard featuring Iran’s top leaders since 1979 is displayed above a highway in Tehran. (AFP/via Getty Images)
A worldview was formed early
Ghadimi said this message is reinforced from childhood and shapes the way generations understand their role in society.
In schools, media and mosques, he said, the ideology was embedded in everyday life, leaving little room for alternative narratives.
That framing, analysts say, helps explain how the system maintains itself, even under pressure.
It also contributes to a worldview in which conflicts are not temporary, but part of a larger, ongoing struggle.
“They harbor hatred for Iranians and Jews, whom they consider enemies of Islam from the very beginning, and they consider killing them – as on October 7 and in the recent killings in Iran – as acts rewarded by God, just like the beliefs Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi once held,” he said.
“No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic is thinking of anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance worldwide,” Ghadimi said.
In that context, critics say, Iran is not simply pursuing national interests, but is acting within what it sees as a broader religious mandate.
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In this photo released by an official website of the Iranian Supreme Leader’s office, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands as air force commanders salute during their meeting in Tehran, February 7, 2017. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP)
Violence and faith
Some critics argue that violence can take on religious meaning within this framework.
“They consider killing them as acts rewarded by God,” Ghadimi said.
Yet analysts say the combination of messianic faith and absolutist ideology creates a system in which confrontation is not only expected, but justified.
A cycle without an easy exit
An Iranian official rejected these characterizations, warning that economic collapse and destruction caused by war could create long-lasting resentment.
“When a country is reduced to rubble, poverty spreads. From such poverty arise hatred, resentment and a desire for revenge, and this cycle of hostility can continue for years. It is not correct to think that everything will simply end the day after a ceasefire. Even if there were no longer a hostile government, people in society who have lost everything may still be driven to seek retribution.”
For Ghadimi, it is not just about how Iran behaves, but also how it understands itself.
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People gather in Revolution Square to mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28, 2026 during a joint Israeli-American operation in Tehran, Iran. (Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)
If the system is rooted in a faith that combines religion, power and mission, critics say, then policies like repression at home and confrontation abroad may not be temporary tactics but structural features.
And if moderation within that system is limited, as some claim, then the challenge for policymakers is not just negotiation, but also understanding the ideology that underlies it.
