Ian H
Shaman
American and Israeli bombardment and an internet blackout make it difficult to read public opinion in Iran. The regime is still widely loathed. But as bombs fall dissent has retreated indoors. On Iran’s streets mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—killed on Saturday—has eclipsed grief for the thousands of protesters slain in January at his command.
A worn-out regime has found renewed purpose under fire. Anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism, which had become threadbare ideologies, have gained fresh force. The restraints that Khamenei placed on Iran’s armed forces are off. And political hardliners, emboldened by war, appear to have replaced reformists in the struggle to name Khamenei’s successor as supreme leader. Talk of a managed transition—or of repairing the rupture with America that has defined the regime since 1979—has faded. Reports suggest the leading contender is Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has close ties to the regime’s security apparatus.
[The Economist]
A worn-out regime has found renewed purpose under fire. Anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism, which had become threadbare ideologies, have gained fresh force. The restraints that Khamenei placed on Iran’s armed forces are off. And political hardliners, emboldened by war, appear to have replaced reformists in the struggle to name Khamenei’s successor as supreme leader. Talk of a managed transition—or of repairing the rupture with America that has defined the regime since 1979—has faded. Reports suggest the leading contender is Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has close ties to the regime’s security apparatus.
[The Economist]