Like his predecessor Khoei, Sistani has not wholly embraced the post-Age-of-Occultation theory known as the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, which was espoused and supported by the late Iranian Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and which is currently extant and enforced by the Iranian government through its own constitution and by its supreme leader and highest religious authority Ali Khamenei. Sistani's scholarly views regarding guardianship resembles Khoei's views, but differs in several respects. Additionally, the primary difference between Sistani's interpretation and the interpretation of Khomeini and Khamenei is reportedly in the range of power that a Grand Ayatollah has in ruling the Islamic community. Sistani has publicly stated and maintained that his interpretation of the doctrine is one that grants more power to the Ayatollahs than al-Khoei, but less than either Khoemeini or Khamenei: