The death of Ebrahim Raisi was a major strategic blow for Khamenei and disrupted all his plans to deal with the deep and widespread social dissatisfaction and the succession issue following his own death.
After Raisi’s death, Khamenei was forced to allow the approval of Masoud Pezeshkian’s candidacy. Pezeshkian had previously been disqualified by the Guardian Council for parliamentary representation. Due to the people of Iran boycotting the government’s election show, this move was to save Khamenei’s faction from isolation by allowing the defeated regime faction to participate in the election.
Masoud Pezeshkian was not Khamenei’s desired candidate for the presidency. . However, due to the divisions within the so-called principlist faction and the support of the so-called reformist faction of the government for Pezeshkian, Khamenei was forced to accept him out of fear of another uprising.
The notion that the theocratic regime ruling Iran, by allowing Khamenei to approve Masoud Pezeshkian’s candidacy who is the weakest individuals of the regime’s defeated faction known as government reformists, and his subsequent presidency, represents a retreat from oppressive and terrorist policies is naive and foolish.
Masoud........