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Recent remarks from members of the Iranian regime’s parliament have laid bare a growing frustration in Tehran over its failure to decisively respond to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
During a public session on September 29, Mohammad Manan Raisi, a member of Iran’s parliament, openly criticized this inaction, suggesting it has severely damaged morale within the regime. “More than two months have passed since the Supreme Leader’s call for blood vengeance for martyr Haniyeh, and we still haven’t seen any effective movement,” Raisi lamented. He warned that this lack of response has “melted public trust in the regime both inside the country and across the Islamic world.”
Mousa Mousavi, another MP, expressed similar concerns, arguing that Tehran’s hesitance only encourages its adversaries. “If the proper revenge for the blood of Haj Qasem Soleimani had been taken, would the enemy have dared to continue its assassination campaign against the resistance front?” he questioned. Mousavi further emphasized, “The continued delay in responding to these attacks is allowing the Zionist enemy to cross our red lines step by step.” His remarks underscored the regime’s growing fear that its failure to act decisively is leaving it vulnerable on multiple fronts, domestically and internationally. “The equation of war is very clear: if we do not strike, we will be struck,” Mousavi concluded, articulating the regime’s internal fears.
In the same session, MP Mohammadreza Sabbaghian Bafghi displayed the regime’s utter desperation with a veiled threat to develop nuclear weapons, stating, “I have one point to make to the state leadership. In my view, Iran’s strong response to the U.S., Israel, and their supporters is to arm itself with the weapons they possess but we currently lack.”
#HassanNasrallah’s Death Exposes #Iran’s Factional Unity and Deceptive Moderateshttps://t.co/p8FEQj3NjM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 29, 2024
The regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, however, has refrained from any direct calls for revenge, choosing instead to call for five days of mourning after Nasrallah’s assassination. In a clear deflection from his previous rhetoric, Khamenei has shifted his focus outward, urging other Muslim nations to take up the fight on Tehran’s behalf.
During a September 16 meeting with figures the regime labeled as Sunni scholars and clerics, Khamenei invoked the concept of the “Islamic Ummah” to appeal for broader Muslim solidarity. “For years, I have stressed the importance of the Islamic Ummah so that we do not forget we are one nation. These borders do not change the reality of the Islamic Ummah,” he declared, adding, “I can’t call myself a Muslim and remain indifferent to the suffering of my brothers in Gaza, Myanmar, or India.”
By urging other nations to take action, Khamenei implicitly admits the regime’s inability to confront its enemies on its own. This strategy of outsourcing Tehran’s foreign agenda to militant proxies, once touted as the regime’s “leverage of power,” is now revealing its limitations. Recent setbacks and the regime’s failure to effectively defend its proxies have exposed the growing vulnerabilities of the clerical dictatorship.
For too long, Tehran has used proxy forces in the Middle East and outsourced terrorism to criminal gangs around the world to demonstrate an unconventional form of insurgent superiority, thereby claiming invincibility.
As long as #Tehran’s cheating goes unpunished, it believes it can continue to spoon-feed the #IRGC and its regional proxies, enough to keep the #Iranian people suppressed and its neighbors in dread.https://t.co/ypLFFG8JG4
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 12, 2022
Even on September 12, Sadegh Hosseini, commander of the IRGC in Ilam province, boasted that groups like “Hashd al-Shaabi, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Ansarullah are the products of the Islamic Revolution,” linking their existence to the success of the regime’s revolutionary ideals. Meanwhile, IRGC commander in Golestan province, Ali-Malek Shahkouei, lauded the Yemeni Houthi forces for targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, claiming, “Yemen means the Islamic Republic. They are sinking Israeli ships… and no one can stop them.”
For over four decades, the West has sought to negotiate with or appease the regime in Tehran, allowing it to entrench its power and expand its terrorist networks. While this regime has long paraded its militias, boasted of its missile capabilities, and threatened global harm if it feels endangered, recent developments suggest that the clerical dictatorship is only as strong as its opponents allow themselves to be intimidated.
Economically, the regime is on its back foot. Sanctions and international isolation have pushed Iran to the brink of financial collapse, with soaring inflation and widespread poverty fueling discontent within the country. As the regime struggles to maintain basic economic stability, it is becoming clear that Tehran lacks the resources to withstand prolonged global pressure. This reality highlights the need for the West to abandon short-sighted economic calculations and electoral gains in favor of a strategic, long-term vision. Prioritizing global security and peace means reinforcing sanctions against Tehran and fully implementing the very sanctions that have already been passed into law.
The only viable solution to the crisis in the Middle East is neither further appeasement nor military invasion but supporting the Iranian people’s aspirations for regime change. The international community must recognize that the real threat to the regime lies not in external military intervention but in empowering the Iranian people and their resistance to the IRGC’s tyranny. Striking at the heart of the regime—by backing the Iranian people’s calls for freedom—is the most effective way to confront Tehran’s authoritarian rule and end its reign of terror.
