Mahdism: The Religious Cult of Iran’s Rulers
Iran’s ruling clerics believe the ayatollah serves as the earthly deputy of the Hidden Imam, tasked with preparing the world for the return of the messianic figure of prophecy, Muhammad al-Mahdi, through the expansion of an Islamic state. In this framework, political power and conflict are religious obligations tied to triggering an apocalyptic end-times event.
The most recent Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei (killed by a joint U.S.-Israeli bombing on February 28, 2026) nonetheless developed the Mahdist doctrine further after assuming leadership in 1989, outlining five revolutionary stages required before the Mahdi’s return: an Islamic Revolution, an Islamic regime, an Islamic government, an Islamic society, and an Islamic civilization. By his own assessment, Iran had completed only the first two. This means the regime believes it is executing a divinely mandated sequence of steps whose endpoint is a cosmic event, the return of the Hidden Imam and the apocalyptic defeat of evil.