ABSTRACT
In 2012, Forbes magazine listed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei among the world's top 100 leaders and identified him as 'the America-hating, nuke-hungry country's top decision maker'. Khamenei perceives Iran to be the Leader of the Muslim World and 'foster parent' of Palestine. According to Khamenei and Iran's Constitution, the main source of power and authority of the Iranian government is Islam. He attributes his successful leadership to Iran's Islamic Cultural Revolution. Khomeini declares the hard-line leadership have transformed Iran into an island of stability, possessing the ideological and cultural authority and the military power to restore calm and overcome the violence and extremism that has plagued the Gulf region. He calls the ideological asset in Iran's armoury of global geopolitical conflict 'perceived power'. Based on Iran's records and the ambitions of the Supreme Leader to transform Iran into a scientific hub for the Muslim world and the global community.
