Iran on the brink: Who is really making decisions?

Iran's new supreme leader is supposed to have the final say, but in practice the picture is far murkier.

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Formally, the answer is clear. Mojtaba Khamenei has assumed the role of supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war on 28 February. In the Islamic Republic's system, that position is meant to be decisive. The leader has the final word on almost anything important: war, peace, and the state's strategic direction.

But in practice, the picture is far murkier.

Donald Trump has described Iran's leadership as "fractured" and suggested the US is waiting for Tehran to produce a "unified proposal".

Unity was certainly on the minds of Iran's leaders when they distributed a message to Iranians on their mobile phones on Thursday night saying there was "no such thing as a hardliner or moderate in Iran - there was just one nation, one course".