The Times never dissapoints..not quite as glowing as "austere religious scholar" from a few years ago by the Washington Post when the ISIS leader got whacked.
Edit: Those prose warriors at the Post didn't let us down...How the Washington Post remembers Khamenei: "With his bushy white beard and easy smile, Ayatollah Khamenei cut a more avuncular figure in public than his perpetually scowling but much more revered mentor, and he was known to be fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels, especially Victor Hugo’s 'Les Misérables.' ... Some Iranians who knew Ayatollah Khamenei before he became supreme leader described him as a 'closet moderate'' ..."
