00:25A major power shift inside Iran
00:28As tensions with the United States and Israel reach a dangerous new level
00:32Iran's supreme leader has quietly handed over significant authority to a trusted insider
00:38And this move could shape the course of any future conflict in the region
00:43Here's what we know
00:44According to reporting by the New York Times on February 22, 2026
00:49Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has delegated sweeping powers to Ali Larijani
00:55The current Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council
00:58This isn't a routine bureaucratic reshuffle
01:01This is crisis management at the highest level of the Iranian state
01:05Larijani, 67 years old, a former parliament speaker
01:09And a one-time commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
01:12Was appointed to his current role in August 2025
01:15But since early January 2026
01:18Amid nationwide protests and escalating U.S. military threats
01:22Khamenei has effectively made him the operational center of power
01:25That includes overseeing the crackdown on domestic dissent
01:29Managing indirect nuclear negotiations with Washington
01:32Through intermediaries like Oman and Qatar
01:34Coordinating with allies such as Russia
01:36And most critically, preparing contingency plans for war
01:40Sources say those plans even account for the possibility
01:43That top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei himself
01:47Could be targeted or killed
01:48That level of preparation signals just how seriously Tehran views the current threat environment
01:54Notably sidelined in this process is President Massoud Pezeshkian
01:58While still head of government
01:59Operational decisions on security, military posture, and foreign policy
02:03Are now firmly in Larijani's hands
02:06In effect, Larijani has become Khamenei's crisis commander
02:09So what is Iran doing on the ground?
02:12Military forces have been placed on high alert
02:14Missile systems have been repositioned
02:16Live fire drills have been conducted
02:18Including missile launches toward the Strategic Strait of Hormos
02:21The Strait of Hormos
02:22Through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes
02:25Any instability there would have global consequences
02:28Inside the country, security forces
02:30Including the Besiege militia
02:31Have been prepared to suppress unrest or sabotage in case of war
02:35Iranian officials insist these moves are defensive deterrence
02:38They say Iran does not seek war
02:40But they also warn
02:41Any attack would trigger a forceful response
02:43Possibly a regional war
02:45Now, who is Ali Larijani ideologically?
02:48He is no moderate outsider
02:49He is a long-time conservative loyalist to Khamenei
02:52He has defended Iran's missile program as non-negotiable
02:55He has insisted on maintaining uranium enrichment rights
02:57While publicly rejecting nuclear weaponization
03:00He has repeatedly criticized U.S. and Israeli actions
03:03And accused Israel of sabotaging diplomatic efforts
03:05Yet at the same time, he has engaged pragmatically in nuclear diplomacy
03:09Keeping talks narrowly focused on the nuclear file
03:11Resisting broader concessions on missiles or regional policy
03:14So what does this power shift really mean?
03:16It doesn't necessarily signal that Iran is preparing to start a war
03:19But it clearly shows Tehran is bracing for one
03:21Iran's leadership appears to be consolidating power
03:24Tightening internal control
03:25And building layered succession plans
03:27To ensure regime survival under extreme scenarios
03:29This is strategic hardening
03:31Not immediate escalation
03:33But it raises the stakes dramatically
03:34As nuclear talks continue under tension
03:36As regional rivalries simmer
03:38And as military pasturing intensifies
03:40Iran's system is shifting into crisis mode
03:42And with Ali Larijani now steering the security apparatus
03:45The country is positioning itself for resilience, retaliation, and survival
03:49The question now is whether diplomacy can outpace deterrence
03:52Before miscalculation turns preparation into confrontation
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