Public disagreements among senior officials were carefully managed, while power was portrayed as flowing unquestioningly from the Supreme Leader through a loyal and disciplined political establishment. His objective was to portray the new Supreme Leader as ideologically committed and more uncompromising than his father. Kharazi claimed that influential figures surrounding the office of the former Supreme Leader had previously marginalized Mojtaba, limiting his access and influence within the leadership structure. For a Supreme Leader whose authority is supposed to be unquestioned, such an admission speaks volumes. The office of Supreme Leader may remain intact, but the networks that sustain it appear increasingly fragmented.