Iranians yearn for a messiah. The ayatollahs are worried

His eyes lack the “hidden imam’s” blinding radiance. His beard is wispy. His favourite pastime is pumping iron. And despite a recruitment drive in the mosques he has admitted (on social media) that he has no followers. But it doesn’t take much to unnerve Iran’s ruling ayatollahs. As soon as the clerical novice from Nishapur in eastern Iran proclaimed himself the mahdi, they had him jailed as a “false messiah”. He could be charged with leading people astray, inciting public animosity and spreading corruption on earth. The last of those crimes carries the death penalty.