To make up for lost growth, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for conglomerates controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and conservative religious foundations to give up their tax-exempt status and pull their weight. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an implacable opponent of America and its allies for most of his rule, will have to concede ground if he’s to end a nuclear dispute that has spanned three U.S. presidencies. Khamenei was selected as guardian of the mainly Shiite Islamic Republic on the death in 1989 of revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini as the country reeled from a newly concluded eight-year war with U.S. ally Iraq. Under his tutelage, Iran sparred with neighboring Sunni states for regional primacy, while sanctions deepened its isolation and crippled the economy. Through it all, Khamenei, 75, stressed self-sufficiency, pious loyalty and animosity toward the U.S. — the “Great […]