Succession, Tehran style
Is this competence or optics?
Within hours of Israeli and American attacks on the government and military infrastructure of Iran, President Donald Trump made it clear the United States’ goal was not to enforce its view of Iran’s future. Instead, Trump insisted the joint military operation offered the people of Iran seeking a secular government an opportunity to establish their own, self-determined path forward.
“Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said in a speech posted on Truth Social. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations.”
While the U.S. military continues to rack up considerable combat success, experts are working to predict what the Iranian government could look like following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the potential collapse of the Islamic Republic. The theocracy that thousands of Iranians died protesting has lines of succession in place, thought it’s still unclear who would officially step forward should the door open to a new, more democratic administration.
Gerard Filitti is senior counsel for The Lawfare Project and studies the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iran’s terror networks as a fellow of the University of London’s Royal Asiatic Society. He says it’s in the best interest of both the U.S. and the Iranian people for a new government to come forward as soon as possible.
“Iran has been responsible for more than 5,000 Americans injured and more than 1,000 killed,” Filitti said. “Now, [the U.S.] is in a position of doing something about it. The fact that [Iran’s] people are out there on the streets as America and Israel are bombing tells you that they want regime change.”
Filitti sees Iran developing into a successful and burgeoning Gulf State, with wealth flooding in to build up the infrastructure, if its citizenry can finally throw off the Shia Islamic theocracy that has ruled since 1979. He believes the success of the U.S. and Israeli strategies paves the way for that transition.
“The succession structure that the Khamenei government built is largely irrelevant,” he proposed. “It was designed for a managed, orderly transition, not for an armed conflict in which the United States has made clear it will eliminate as many leaders as necessary to get the results it wants.”
Filitti currently finds the Iranian government structure sufficient to continue fighting, …
Is this competence or optics?
Within hours of Israeli and American attacks on the government and military infrastructure of Iran, President Donald Trump made it clear the United States’ goal was not to enforce its view of Iran’s future. Instead, Trump insisted the joint military operation offered the people of Iran seeking a secular government an opportunity to establish their own, self-determined path forward.
“Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said in a speech posted on Truth Social. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations.”
While the U.S. military continues to rack up considerable combat success, experts are working to predict what the Iranian government could look like following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the potential collapse of the Islamic Republic. The theocracy that thousands of Iranians died protesting has lines of succession in place, thought it’s still unclear who would officially step forward should the door open to a new, more democratic administration.
Gerard Filitti is senior counsel for The Lawfare Project and studies the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iran’s terror networks as a fellow of the University of London’s Royal Asiatic Society. He says it’s in the best interest of both the U.S. and the Iranian people for a new government to come forward as soon as possible.
“Iran has been responsible for more than 5,000 Americans injured and more than 1,000 killed,” Filitti said. “Now, [the U.S.] is in a position of doing something about it. The fact that [Iran’s] people are out there on the streets as America and Israel are bombing tells you that they want regime change.”
Filitti sees Iran developing into a successful and burgeoning Gulf State, with wealth flooding in to build up the infrastructure, if its citizenry can finally throw off the Shia Islamic theocracy that has ruled since 1979. He believes the success of the U.S. and Israeli strategies paves the way for that transition.
“The succession structure that the Khamenei government built is largely irrelevant,” he proposed. “It was designed for a managed, orderly transition, not for an armed conflict in which the United States has made clear it will eliminate as many leaders as necessary to get the results it wants.”
Filitti currently finds the Iranian government structure sufficient to continue fighting, …
Succession, Tehran style
Is this competence or optics?
Within hours of Israeli and American attacks on the government and military infrastructure of Iran, President Donald Trump made it clear the United States’ goal was not to enforce its view of Iran’s future. Instead, Trump insisted the joint military operation offered the people of Iran seeking a secular government an opportunity to establish their own, self-determined path forward.
“Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said in a speech posted on Truth Social. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations.”
While the U.S. military continues to rack up considerable combat success, experts are working to predict what the Iranian government could look like following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the potential collapse of the Islamic Republic. The theocracy that thousands of Iranians died protesting has lines of succession in place, thought it’s still unclear who would officially step forward should the door open to a new, more democratic administration.
Gerard Filitti is senior counsel for The Lawfare Project and studies the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iran’s terror networks as a fellow of the University of London’s Royal Asiatic Society. He says it’s in the best interest of both the U.S. and the Iranian people for a new government to come forward as soon as possible.
“Iran has been responsible for more than 5,000 Americans injured and more than 1,000 killed,” Filitti said. “Now, [the U.S.] is in a position of doing something about it. The fact that [Iran’s] people are out there on the streets as America and Israel are bombing tells you that they want regime change.”
Filitti sees Iran developing into a successful and burgeoning Gulf State, with wealth flooding in to build up the infrastructure, if its citizenry can finally throw off the Shia Islamic theocracy that has ruled since 1979. He believes the success of the U.S. and Israeli strategies paves the way for that transition.
“The succession structure that the Khamenei government built is largely irrelevant,” he proposed. “It was designed for a managed, orderly transition, not for an armed conflict in which the United States has made clear it will eliminate as many leaders as necessary to get the results it wants.”
Filitti currently finds the Iranian government structure sufficient to continue fighting, …
0 Comments
0 Shares
29 Views
0 Reviews
