Iranian citizens didn't hold their collective breath last week as the new president, Ebrahim Raisi, swore his oath of loyalty and entered office. None of them regardless had any expectations of the "butcher of Tehran," who as Tehran's chief prosecutor many years ago, and later as justice minister, had already displayed his clout by sending thousands of Iranian youths to their deaths for voicing dissent against the regime.
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The Iranians are in despair, but their despondency, for now, has merely led them to accept their situation and still hasn't sparked any mass protests or rebellion against the ayatollah regime ruling the country with an iron fist. Most of them are simply trying to survive the day in a desperate effort to provide a basic existence for themselves and their families. There has been a severe shortage of food and other basic goods in the country for quite some time now. The coronavirus has reared its head again, and in recent days a record 37,000 people have fallen ill.
Making matters even worse, the country is also dealing with widespread power outages and disruptions to water supplies. It's incredible to witness a country rich in oil, and which wants to become a nuclear power, unable to provide its people with electricity and water. This, however, is the obvious outcome in a country ruled by a dictatorial, corrupt and violent regime, which only cares about building a nuclear bomb and expanding its sphere of influence throughout the Middle East.
It's not surprising that Raisi's inauguration was attended by the ayatollah regime's proxies from across the region, chief among them Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah's deputy leader, and representatives from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They all expect great things from the new president and hope he increases his country's support for them. But the ceremony was also attended by a representative from the European Union, in the hope that appeasing the ayatollahs will garner a few credit points for the Europeans and maybe even the inside track on a few business deals once the sanctions imposed on Iran are lifted.
But the truth is, this is all rather moot anyway as all decisions in Iran are made by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with the commanders of his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. All the Iranian president must do is "sell" their policies and actions to the outside world and take care of the people's water and sewage problems at home.
Contrary to his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, Raisi does not hail from the reformist camp seeking change in Iran, limited as it may be. Just the opposite, Raisi is a stalwart of the radical camp, is in absolute lockstep with Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in terms of Iran's goals, and is willing to pay any price, or more precisely – is willing for Iranian citizens to pay any price, to bring those goals to fruition.
In his inauguration speech, Raisi repeated the Iranians' customary mantras, whereby the country was not interested in acquiring nuclear weapons. No one is taking his words seriously, though. On the eve of his first day in office, the Iranians attacked an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman and killed two of its crew. They also attempted to hijack several vessels that passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, their proxies in Lebanon have raised tensions on the border with Israel. The Iranian message is clear: Any delay in signing the improved nuclear deal currently being negotiated with the Biden administration, all the more so if they are confronted militarily, will ignite a conflagration.
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