🖋️ From The Desk of Abhijeet Rane The fall of the Shah in 1979 gave Iranians a chance to embrace freedom, but Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise turned that hope into a rigid theocracy. By enforcing Sharia law and challenging Saudi Arabia, Iran ignited sectarian rivalry. In response, Riyadh empowered Wahhabi clerics, fueling Sunni extremism. This rivalry spread across the Middle East, destabilizing Lebanon through Hezbollah and strengthening Pakistan’s madrasa network with Saudi fund