however, indicates that the PLO presence in Iran is relatively limited. The Khomeini regime appears to have made a deter- mined effort to keep the PLO presence small in order to prevent the Palestinians from playing a significant role in Iran's internal affairs.

The current supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ruling Iran for more than three decades, has issued decrees and made final decisions on economy, education, environment, foreign policy, national planning, and almost everything else in the country.

In the October 7 attacks in 2023, Hamas, an Iranian proxy in the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel leading to war between Israel and Hamas and between Israel and other Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. Over the war, the Iranian proxies were severely weakened.