The unseen sovereign: Iran's ritual state and the oil-backed machine

An Iran International analysis argues that the Islamic Republic has moved beliefs about the unseen from private life to the center of power, building institutions, budgets, and propaganda around a sacred legitimacy tied to the Imam of Time. Using oil wealth to fund mosques, seminaries, and media, the regime turns mysticism into statecraft—even as it shifts some funding toward taxation—so that rulers can claim legitimacy from a divine source while public life and budgets reflect a sacred–secular blend. The piece also notes how symbols, rituals, and public sentiment—seen in episodes from revolution anniversaries to a controversial theater production—reveal the tension between sacred authority and ordinary Iranians under economic strain.