by Prof. Eyal Zisser
In choosing Ebrahim Raisi as its figurehead, the ayatollah regime will henceforth speak to the world in one blunt, extremist, clear voice.
The fake presidential election in Iran on Friday predictably resulted in a victory for Ebrahim Raisi, the most radical of all the possible candidates. In light of his views, and mainly his murderous track record as someone who sent thousands of political dissidents to their deaths as Tehran's chief prosecutor in the 1980s, the world could end up wishing for any one of his predecessors, even one as detestable as the Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The reason Raisi was elected – and was essentially allowed to run in the first place – unlike the 600 or so other candidates who were disqualified and erased from the candidate list – is his absolute loyalty to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The frail, 82-year-old leader doesn't want any surprises in the final stretch of his life. Raisi is often mentioned as the possible next-in-line to Khamenei, which essentially means that Iran didn't just elect a new president but a successor to the supreme leader.
Regardless, the regime in Tehran chose to remove all its masks by eschewing a smiling, affable figurehead to mislead the international community, as it has done in the past. Henceforth, Iran will be speaking in one blunt, extremist, clear voice.
The majority of Iranians chose not to partake in the spectacle put on by the regime, an indication of their frustration and distress and mainly their deep lack of trust in the system and their ability to change it in any way. It's incredible to think that just over 30 years ago, throngs of Iranian youths took to the streets in protest of the Shah regime, in the hope of fostering change and ensuring a better future for their country. Their revolution was "hijacked" by religious clerics, who have since ruled the country with an iron fist.
Most Iranians are far worse off now than they were under the Shah. The ayatollah regime, a failed and corrupt entity that has poured the country's resources into its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, has wrought upon Iranians a life of poverty, anguish, and even hunger. Iran's troubles were exacerbated by the pummeling administered by the Trump administration. While the measures it implemented weren't enough to topple the regime, they undoubtedly shortened its lifespan, similar to Ronald Reagan's fight that led to the eventual collapse of the former Soviet Union.
The choice of Raisi as president, however, is less important than the American administration's expected choice in favor of a nuclear deal with Iran. It never ceases to amaze how, when a force of unadulterated, radical evil finds itself on the ropes, someone always comes along to lend it a hand and pick it back up. Such was the case with Israel in 1992 when it signed the Oslo Accords, which saved Yasser Arafat from oblivion; and such is the case now with the Americans coming to the rescue of the regime in Tehran.
The nuclear deal is a lifeline for a drowning regime. Removing sanctions and welcoming Iran back into the family of nations will give it a boost and help it rehabilitate its sputtering economy. We can rest assured that the expected nuclear deal will fail to rein in the ayatollah regime's support for terror and subversive activities. In fact, it will have the exact opposite effect: It will encourage them to hasten their march toward a nuclear bomb and meddle across the region.
The ayatollah regime's end will inevitably come; it is simply the way of the world. Unfortunately, the emerging nuclear deal between the US and Iran won't bring us any closer to that day, rather will only give the regime more oxygen.
Prof. Eyal Zisser
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/iran-is-dropping-all-pretenses/
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