Iranian regime shaking violently under heavy US sanctions

Mohamed Shaath

Former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad renewed his attack on  his moderate successor Hassan Rouhani for his alleged disastrous economic policies. In addition to President Rouhani, Sadiq Larjani, head of Iranian Judiciary and his brother Ali, Speaker of the Parliament, came under Ahmadinejad’s renewed onslaught on the alleged reformists.

Holding the trio accountable for the economic catastrophe hitting the country as a result of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the imposition of sanctions, the former president demanded the immediate departure of Rouhani and the Larjani brothers.

Iran is expecting the worst in November. US President Donald Trump had threatened that Washington would impose “tougher than ever” sanctions on Iran after the punitive actions against the country slated in November this year.

Uncertainty over Rouhani’s political future increased after Abbas Ali Kaddkhodaei, spokesman of the Guardian Council of the Iranian Constitution indicated that his days in presidency were numbered. Disclosing that the Conservatives were planning to oust President Rouhani,  Kaddkhodaei confessed that the Council had made mistakenly believed the eligibility and qualifications of candidates in the former presidential elections, in which Rouhani was the winner.

Retaliating, the beleaguered President harshly criticized the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Rouhani said that the IRG, the powerful military institution in the country, was threatening the government officials and impeding their efforts to display better performance. He also accused the IRG of compromising the personal and public freedom by intercepting the social media.   Stepping up his attack on his hardline opponents, including the IRG, Rouhani said: “It was outrageous that powerful decision-makers were reluctant to intervene promptly and deal with mass protests over the deteriorating economic situation.”

Crop growers in the city of Isfahan joined mass demonstrations across Iran. The growers expressed their anger over the shortage of irrigation water. In addition, Iranian Arabs launched mass protests, calling for having equal rights.

In his counterattack, Rouhani blamed the IRG for holding control of the arteries of the country’s economy, denying his government the opportunity to reduce the impact of the US sanctions on the Iranian people.

Dr. Mohamed Benayah, a researcher interested in the Iranian affairs, told The Reference that the hardliners were holding President Hassan Rouhani accountable for the deterioration in the country’s economic situation in the wake of the US sanctions. Dr. Benayah said: “The Iranian hardliners are calling upon Rouhani to get rid of his economic advisers.” The researcher expected that Rouhani would find it too difficult to continue. “Two ministers were impeached by the Iranian parliament,” said Dr. Benyah. In his interview, Dr. Benayah said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei entered the fray by ordering President Rouhani to conduct immediate investigation into the fall of the Iranian currency. “Like any totalitarian system, the regime of Iranian mullahs is trying to make President Rouhani a scapegoat for the economic disaster,”   Dr. Benayah told The Reference.