{"id":333702,"date":"2025-07-02T20:30:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=333702"},"modified":"2025-07-02T20:30:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:30:04","slug":"how-irans-clerical-rule-engineered-its-weakness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/how-irans-clerical-rule-engineered-its-weakness\/","title":{"rendered":"How Iran\u2019s Clerical Rule Engineered Its Weakness"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_333703\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-333703\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-333703 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy.jpg\" alt=\"Ahmadreza Radan (left), commander of Iran\u2019s SSF, and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hosein Mohseni Ejei question an alleged spy during a televised interrogation aired by state media in June 2025\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ahmadreza-radan-mohseni-ejei-interrogate-aledged-spy-696x391.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-333703\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ahmadreza Radan (left), commander of the regime\u2019s SSF, and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hosein Mohseni Ejei question an alleged spy during a televised interrogation aired by state media in June 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW226485160 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW226485160 BCX8\">T<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW226485160 BCX8\">wo<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW226485160 BCX8\">-minute read<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW226485160 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For over four decades, Iran\u2019s clerical regime has waged war\u2014not only on foreign adversaries, but on its own people. It has drained the nation\u2019s wealth into nuclear brinkmanship, proxy warfare, and ballistic escalation, claiming national dignity while denying citizens the most basic freedoms. The result is a hollow state: authoritarian, militarized, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-regime-shaken-by-ceasefire-fallout-fear-of-unrest-mounts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">catastrophically vulnerable<\/a>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That vulnerability is now fully exposed.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After a devastating 12-day war, Iran is left reeling. Its military deterrence has been battered, its command structure damaged, and its foreign leverage severely eroded. Yet instead of confronting these failures, the regime has doubled down on its oldest tactic\u2014turning inward and labeling dissent as treason.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the war\u2019s aftermath, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei ordered the creation of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.entekhab.ir\/fa\/news\/872897\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">special courts<\/a>\u201d to prosecute those accused of aiding \u201cthe enemy.\u201d Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir declared that these courts would handle cases involving \u201ctraitors, collaborators, and foreign agents,\u201d particularly those active online. \u201cMonitoring of cyberspace and confronting accounts working with the enemy,\u201d he said on July 1, \u201chas entered a new phase.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a>&#39;s Regime Tightens Grip with Harsh New Espionage Law <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EPfTqGQrbS\">https:\/\/t.co\/EPfTqGQrbS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1940057947754897422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This is not a posture of strength. It is institutional panic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The regime\u2019s greatest fear now isn\u2019t an external threat\u2014it is its own citizens. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For decades, it has held onto power through brutal repression: mass arrests of protesters, torture and execution of dissidents, long prison sentences for peaceful activists, and violent crackdowns on any form of opposition. This system of control is enforced not only through ideological mandates\u2014like compulsory hijab, internet shutdowns, bans on basic freedoms\u2014but through a widespread apparatus of surveillance, fear, and violence aimed at silencing every voice of dissent.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On June 30, former MP Heshmatollah <a href=\"https:\/\/donya-e-eqtesad.com\/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-62\/4192329-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%D9%87-%D9%88%D9%82%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D9%87%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%BA%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%B3%DA%AF-%DA%AF%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%DB%8C%D9%84-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%A7%DA%A9-%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%BE%D9%87%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D9%87-%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D8%B3%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%A8%D9%87-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%85%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Falahatpisheh publicly condemned<\/a> the regime\u2019s misplaced priorities: \u201cOne week before the war, the state was obsessed with banning dog-walking,\u201d he told <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ILNA<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. \u201cAt the same time, Israel was manufacturing drones on Iranian soil. I warned them. No one listened.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But its paranoia is no longer confined to the streets. It is turning inward at the highest levels. Following the war, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bultannews.com\/fa\/news\/870563\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bulletin News<\/span><\/i><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, an outlet linked to the IRGC, published a blistering critique of former top security official Ali Shamkhani, whose home was leveled in an Israeli strike\u2014while he and his son escaped unscathed. The outlet asked: \u201cMr. Shamkhani! People saw your house reduced to rubble, but you walked away without a scratch. Should this be called coincidence? Fate? Or something the people deserve answers about?\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> Regime Shaken by Ceasefire Fallout, Fear of Unrest Mounts<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iL8tM2lRNd\">https:\/\/t.co\/iL8tM2lRNd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1939763080805728284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The article went further, demanding: \u201cWhy did your son leave the house ten minutes before the blast? Why was he even there at that hour?\u201d These aren\u2019t rhetorical flourishes\u2014they are accusations. In a regime where survival is suspect, proximity to disaster has become a test of loyalty.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This fracture is not surprising. A government that thrives on distrust and coercion inevitably consumes itself. For years, it has treated civil society as the enemy, criminalizing independent thought and labeling dissenters as foreign agents. It is no accident that political prisoners are tortured, whistleblowers are jailed, and even insiders are silenced.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The regime, weakened and humiliated, is now resorting to what it knows best: repression masquerading as strength. Mohseni-<a href=\"https:\/\/hammihanonline.ir\/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA-18\/41649-%D8%A7%DA%98-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%B5%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ejei has urged vigilance<\/a> \u201cagainst internal infiltrators and deceivers,\u201d warning that the enemy \u201cmay strike again.\u201d But what he fears most is not an Israeli jet or American sanction\u2014it\u2019s a population no longer afraid.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After 46 years, the clerical dictatorship has lost every lever it once claimed: moral authority, economic control, military deterrence, and political unity. What remains is a machinery of fear. But that machine, like the war it just lost, is breaking down\u2014and this time, no amount of censorship or courtrooms will rebuild it.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two-minute read&nbsp; For over four decades, Iran&rsquo;s clerical regime has waged war&mdash;not only on foreign adversaries, but on its own people. It has drained the nation&rsquo;s wealth into nuclear brinkmanship, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":333703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[276],"class_list":{"0":"post-333702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-iran-human-rights"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Iran\u2019s Clerical Rule Engineered Its Weakness - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two-minute read\u00a0 For over four decades, Iran\u2019s clerical regime has waged war\u2014not only on foreign adversaries, but on its own people. 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