via Lobe Log

The Christian Science Monitor’s star reporter Scott Peterson – author of a must-read book on Iranian history and politics post-1979 — provides an in-depth report on the decision-making process of Iran’s Leader, Ali Khamenei.

From inside his former jail cell, to a lifetime fighting personalities greater than his own, Peterson examines how this bookworm “chic sheikh” cleric — who still reads 2-3 books a week — was elevated to Leader, and ruled until the 2009 crisis saw his portraits burn to chants of “Death to the Dictator!”

Major takeaway: history shows that anti-Americanism is not in Khamenei’s DNA — as practically everyone alleges — and that he has assented to exploring detente with the US when he sensed change on the US side.