The Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, is - surprisingly - a devout fan of the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
'Your leader shows us the way,' said an IRGC insider. 'He shows, through his landslide victory, that he is tremendously popular with the people, while at the same time protecting his elites and providing great benefits for his favoured insiders, like Peter Mandelson. He shows that you don't need any kind of profile and policies in order to lead. He shows that you can ignore the press and all its nonsense. He shows that you can be fierce with your enemies like Angela Rayner and Jess Philips and Wesley Streeting.'
'Our great leader also fears for his life because of the Yankees. Our leader must also try to rally a country battered and bruised, and with citizens who are cowed and unsure and unnecessarily worried about their human rights, and their democracy. Our leader must also try to keep crude oil pumping. Our leader must also try to rally and army and a navy that has been decimated and needs rebuilding. Our leader must also control the media messaging with an iron fist.
'Our leader, though, is less bothered about having other people to pay for his clothes. That's just humiliating.
'The parallels between our countries are extremely strong, although we are still not very keen on Salman Rushdie. Unlike Starmer, we don't enjoy magical realism.'
