A modified form of this wilayat al-faqih system was adopted after Khomeini and his followers took power, and Khomeini was the Islamic Republic’s first “Guardian” or “Supreme Leader”. In the meantime, however, Khomeini talked only about “Islamic Government”, never spelling out what exactly that meant.His network may have been learning about the necessity of rule by Jurists, but “in his interview, speeches, messages and fatvas during this period, there is not a single reference to velayat-e faqih.”