NADIM KOTEICH -- Language often serves as a precursor to events in the world of politics. What begins as a hushed taboo eventually transforms into a working hypothesis before finally settling into an undeniable reality.
This shift represents more than just a change in terminology. Instead, it marks the silent crumbling of the symbolic immunity that once shielded totalitarian regimes.
Ever since public discourse turned toward the possibility of targeting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, he has drifted away from the realm of the untouchable. He has moved from a position of sacred status into a landscape of technical probabilities weighed by analysts and adversaries alike.
We are witnessing a fundamental transformation in how the world perceives the core of Iranian political power. The normalization of discussions regarding the end of the Supreme Leader has effectively stripped away the myth that sustained the system for decades. His authority has collapsed mentally long before any physical fall, leaving him exposed to a language that no longer fears him. This political reality is beginning to take shape regardless of his actual physical presence. A man who once held absolute sovereignty is now treated as a technical problem to be solved or a hurdle to be cleared.
