The fear of Iran’s senior officials and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over public uprisings, and a power struggle escalation amongst the regime’s factions with the sham presidential election nearing, has reached an unprecedented level. Khamenei delivered a speech recently in this regard at a gathering of Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) members highlighting the sensitivity of this subject.
“If there are any laws broken or immoralities during the elections… the elections will end against our interests… anyone seeking any measures against the country’s security will most certainly face a harsh slap in the face,” he said.
“One of the enemy’s most important objectives, or maybe their most important short term objective, is to be able to endanger the country’s security… their long term objective is the Islamic establishment in principle,” Khamenei added.
In using the “enemy” term, Khamenei is in fact referring to no one other than the protesting people. To this end, he is warning the farce election candidate to “not continue any of the enemy’s half-finished or failed measures, as this is in favor of the enemy.”
Take notice that “a change in character is no different with a change of state. This is the meaning of a change in behavior, meaning to annihilate the Islamic establishment,” Khamenei said in his remarks, once again highlighting how this religious fascism cannot be reformed. (State-run media – May 10)
A newspaper associated to the IRGC Basij cited an element linked to Khamenei’s faction issuing a warning to all regime officials not to unveil each other’s embarrassments.
“You are sitting on a powder keg ignited some time ago… I warn you about the large masses of anger and rage behind your city walls… about the millions, young and old, who are broken and damaged. Rest assured when the storm comes you will not have the chance to run. All paths will be blocked… you won’t even reach the plane’s stairs like the Shah… the real threat lies in blind and burning domestic protests,” according to the Basij-linked Javan daily on May 9.
Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni, second-in-command of Iran’s police, also expressed concern in this regard.
“The monafeqin (a term used by the Iranian regime for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran) and enemies of the states have prepared to launch unrests, seditions and riots across the country… We witnessed this in the 2009 sedition. Therefore, we must be very careful in this regard and prevent such a wave in the society,” he said.
He went on to describe the repressive police anti-riot units as “the most professional, fastest and most experienced unit across the police apparatus”, and the most effective force to quell “disruptors of order and security” and the “police’s last punch.” (Tasnim news agency, affiliated to the IRGC Quds Force, May 11)
On the same day deputy police commander Zolghadri said more than 260,000 people are directly involved in guaranteeing security during the elections. Of course, a large portion of the military, police units, intelligence agents in border areas, roads, patrols, checkpoints and other intelligence-related personnel are active in this regard. Most certainly, this issue will be intensified throughout the next week. Zolghadri added any rally or march in the streets, parks and various squares will be banned, and subject to punishment.
As a result, the façade elections, aimed to be the regime’s show of strength, have become the scene of yet another major internal power struggle. Various regime factions are brawling over how to preserve their establishment from being their definite overthrow, and to obtain a larger share of power and plundering the people’s riches.
As the Iranian Resistance has announced time and again, whatever the result of these sham elections, the regime in its entirety will be far weaker and its domestic and international crises further escalated.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
May 12, 2017