The regime is terrified. It fears that if President Masoud Pezeshkian continues to expose its weaknesses, he could embolden the public, leading to unrest that, if it escalates, could threaten the regime's very existence.
The president spoke extensively, declaring, "There is no water in the rivers, in the wells, and in the dams – the water crisis is more severe than ever. The crisis could shut down the country across all sectors." He enumerated a host of other problems, including shortages of electricity, cooking and heating gas, and rampant inflation that official sources now concede has long surpassed 50%. Pezeshkian stressed that Iran is out of options and must perform "difficult surgery on the body of the state."
In a stunning rebuke of the regime's core values, the Iranian president attacked the forced imposition of the hijab, arguing that values must be instilled through education, not coercion. In another extraordinary remark that sounded like capitulation, he asserted that Israel possesses vast intelligence on senior Iranian officials and key facilities. He added that should Iran attempt to rebuild its missile and nuclear programs, Israel would immediately bomb them, causing the entire investment to vanish into thin air.
To a Western observer, such statements might seem logical, even commendable, from a leader warning of collapse and detailing the impact of American sanctions which, he said, "have reduced Iranian revenues to a minimum and collapsed the economy, which cannot be restored in the short term." In revolutionary Iran, however, these are shocking words from the man who is nominally second only to the Supreme Leader, who dictates the agenda on military expansion, terror funding, and the nuclear program. (Read More)