The recent electoral process in Iran was so absurd that only some 10%-15% of Iranians participated, marking it as a farce. This minuscule turnout reflects a significant public disengagement, driven by perceptions of electoral illegitimacy and the futility of voting within a predetermined political landscape. Threats, assassinations, crimes, and acts of sabotage have continued throughout, with various branches dedicated to suppression working to maintain the regime’s iron grip on power.
The primary aim of the mullahs’ electoral circus was to extend the regime’s lifespan and manipulate international perceptions while suppressing the nationwide movement clamoring for change. It was strategically designed to generate a new wave of propaganda through the US media, showcasing the deeply ingrained brutality of this terrorist regime. Accepting the mullahs’ propaganda would be naive or gullible.
As the 2024 US elections approach, the outcome remains uncertain. However, if former president Donald Trump returns to power, the White House will surely understand that the newly elected Masoud Pezeshkian has ascended through political conspiracies, machinations, and power plays to delay the collapse of the regime, he is a radical puppet, offering vibrant and fraudulent promises, intent on undermining efforts to overthrow the theocratic regime.
In these lackluster and superficial elections, victory is meaningless. Reformists in this circus are mere sellers of deceit, and radical believers in the Khamenei lie.
THE FUTURE president of the United States must recognize that these elections change nothing in the theocratic landscape of Iran. The aggressive behavior of the Shi’ite mullahs, the Quds Force, and Islamic terrorism in the Shia Crescent, along with the mullahs’ dominance in the Middle East, and the hostility toward the US and Israel will not diminish in the slightest.
The political system and the core power structure in Iran are fundamentally opposed to any kind of change or reform. No one dares to stand up to the dictator Ali Khamenei, and reform within the authoritarian structure and the inner circle of the Islamic Jurist is impossible. The mafia-like regime in Tehran stifles any hint of change, ensuring that the nation always remains oppressed.
Despite Pezeshkian securing only 16 million votes from an approximate population of 90 million, the grip of religious tyranny remains unyielding. His rise to power promises no change in the entrenched structure of power and wealth, a mafia divided between the reformists and conservatives or hardliners, which exploits the privileges of authority and its intelligence institutions.
The reformists have merely contributed to the perpetuation of the Khamenei regime, deceiving the international community. Their intentions are not rooted in reverence or service to the Iranian people, nor in pursuit of democracy. They focus solely on the retention of power and the accumulation of wealth, ensuring no real change occurs in the corrupt and brutal wilderness of Tehran’s terrorist regime.
Both factions, utterly loyal to Khamenei, his outlaw regime, and inner his circle are merely sides of the same coin. While conservatives engage in deceptive maneuvers, reformists simply put lipstick on a pig, recycling the worn-out narratives of Khatami and Rouhani, while the world is misled into believing that they are driving change.
Nevertheless, boycotting the elections has provided the people with self-respect.
It has been claimed that of the 62 million eligible voters, Pezeshkian emerged from the presidential ballot box under Khamenei’s watchful eye with 16 million votes. Based on the regime’s propaganda and its falsified statistics, Raisi had previously garnered 18 million votes and Ahmadinejad 17 million. Yet, even accepting these numbers, Pezeshkian still does not represent even 17% of the entire population of Iran. Khamenei ascended to the presidency in September 1981 following a 44-day process after the assassination of Rajai. Forty-three years later, Pezeshkian assumed power 76 days after Raisi’s death.
With his arrival, no changes are anticipated. The head of the octopus remains firmly in Tehran, the regime continues its tyranny, and political prisoners remain incarcerated, their numbers ever-growing.
The voice of the Iranian people
HOWEVER, the will of the Iranian people is to change this brutal and destructive structure and their anger is a smoldering fire. Even the reformists’ propaganda mafia cannot silence the barely audible voice of the people of Iran.
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the most popular opposition figure, and the only voice advocating for the boycott of the recent circus, is aligned with the sentiments of Iranian society. With this boycott, the entire world has come to understand that the mullahs’ regime in Iran possesses neither credibility nor legitimacy.
In contrast, most of the corrupt, so-called “opposition” figures were playing into the hands of the reformists. No law prevails in Iran.
In conclusion, the ascent of Pezeshkian underlines a continued trajectory of authoritarianism and disregard for genuine democratic reforms in Iran. Despite the outward appearance of change, the regime’s foundational structure, characterized by suppression, propaganda, and manipulation, remains unaltered.
Therefore, the performance of the authoritarian system and the actions of both pro-regime factions, complicit in Islamic terrorism, Shi’ite domination, brutal suppression of protests, and Iran’s international isolation, along with the offensive activities of the Intelligence Service Ministry (MOIS) and the Quds Force within and outside the Shi’ite Crescent, have laid the groundwork for an inevitable collapse.
The international community must recognize these realities and reconsider their engagement strategies with Iran. Only through a united and informed approach can the world hope to see a regime in Iran that truly represents its people’s will and respects their rights.
The writer is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East studies researcher based in Washington, with a particular focus on Iran and ethnic conflicts in the region. His new book is The Black Shabbat, published in the US. You can follow him at erfanfard.com and on X @EQFARD