It’s a short while since Baghdad and the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, and yet the Middle East has entered into yet another period of turmoil, having seen the killing of Ali Khamenei, a larger than life figure and Iranian icon for so many years.
The disablement of many secretive programs and the quiet, understated resumption of its rule by way of an inherited Supreme Leadership has shocked and destabilised a nation in a regional sphere that had believed it was rising to a sort of dominance.
But Iran is in a struggle of its own. Its survival is based on what the future will be. It has to move out to reengage on new terms and the fruit of this will set its general priorities in place for an adjustment of its influence. Any move on this front is watched by powers eager for a development.