Intensified Conflict: Sudan, Iran, and Beyond

The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the head of government of Iran. In the Iranian system of government established after the Islamic Revolution, the supreme leader is the de facto head of state of Iran.

Ali Larijani

Ali Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian politician and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who has served as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council since 2025. He served as the speaker of the Parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020. He has been a member of the Expediency Discernment Council since 2020, having previously served from 1997 to 2008. He filed for candidacy in the 2024 presidential election, but was ultimately disqualified. He previously ran in 2005, but finished in sixth place, and was also disqualified from running in 2021.

Steve Witkoff

Steven Charles Witkoff is an American real estate developer, investor, and founder of the Witkoff Group. Since 2025, Witkoff has served as the United States special envoy to the Middle East and special envoy for peace missions. He has also acted as a de facto envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Ralph Regenvanu

Ralph John Regenvanu is a Ni-Vanuatu anthropologist, artist and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since September 2008, was a member of Cabinet for most of the period from December 2010 to January 2012 and then from March 2013 to June 2015, and was the Director of the Vanuatu National Cultural Council from 1995 until December 2010.

Tarique Rahman

Tarique Rahman, also known as Tarique Zia, is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 2026. He is the eldest son of former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Yamandú Orsi

Yamandú Ramón Antonio Orsi Martínez is a Uruguayan politician and history teacher who has been the 43rd president of Uruguay since March 2025. A member of the left-wing Movement of Popular Participation, the main faction of the Broad Front party, he served as intendant of the Canelones Department from 2015 to February 2020, and a second term from November 2020 to 2024.

Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping is a Chinese statesman and politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) since 2012, and the president of China since 2013. Xi has been the leader of the fifth generation of Chinese leadership since 2012.