With renewed talk of a deal between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, much attention has focused on who holds real authority in Tehran. The declared Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son and purported heir to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not been seen publicly since his father was killed in American and Israeli air strikes on February 28. Whether he is alive, badly wounded, or operating through handlers, his absence raises a deeper question: who is truly controlling Iran? The answer, I would argue, lies not with the Khameneis but with a powerful political dynasty that has shaped the Islamic Republic from its earliest days and continues to do so from the shadows.

I was born in Rafsanjan, the same city as Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who served as the fourth President of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and was widely regarded as one of the most politically skilled figures the Islamic Republic ever produced. He was no mere idealistic revolutionary. He was a shrewd operator who mastered the art of consolidating power within political and economic institutions while projecting an image of pragmatic moderation to the outside world.

Rafsanjani was married to Effat Marashi, and they had five children who collectively came to dominate large swaths of Iranian public life. His eldest son, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, led the Tehran Metro system and later chaired the Tehran City Council. His daughter Faezeh Hashemi served in parliament, edited the newspaper “Zan,” (Women) and cultivated a reputation as a women’s rights activist. Another daughter, Fatemeh Hashemi, worked in health-related charitable foundations. Another son, Mehdi Hashemi, operated in the energy and telecommunications sectors, while his youngest son, Yasser Hashemi, was active in academic and institutional circles. Beyond the immediate family, numerous grandchildren, other relatives, and members of his wife’s family extended the dynasty’s reach across Iranian politics, media, education, and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)