These instances of “monkey see, monkey do” by the Nezam underscore Khamenei’s commitment to taking Iran down a totalitarian path to preserve the Islamic Revolution. The Nezam views the “Iran-Russia-China triangle” (as one hardliner put it) as one based on shared authoritarian values. From Khamenei’s standpoint, though, that doesn’t matter—if the people try to rise up, he can “look East” for the technology and techniques to thwart them. Unrest? The Chinese have an app for that. Read more here.
