Meeting of two dictators, Ali Khamenei and Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania

The arrival itself would be a tightly orchestrated affair, a small convoy of official vehicles navigating the wide, empty boulevards of Bucharest, cleared by an omnipresent security apparatus. Khamenei’s delegation, perhaps noticeably more ascetic in appearance compared to their opulent Romanian hosts, would be ushered into a marble-clad, heavily guarded presidential palace, a monument to Ceaușescu’s megalomania. The initial greetings would be formal, cold, devoid of genuine warmth, each leader assessing the other with a mixture of curiosity, suspicion, and a shared understanding of the immense, lonely burden of absolute power. The ceremonial pleasantries would be exchanged through interpreters, each phrase carefully chosen, each gesture meticulously observed for any hidden meaning or subtle challenge.