Who might have been responsible for the attack remains a mystery, but his death in May came just a month after Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of rockets. The attack led to the formation of an unprecedented coalition of Israelis, Americans and Arabs that inflicted a humiliating defeat on Iran’s missile force – an arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Khamenei, 85, knows he doesn’t have long to live. Raisi saw himself as a replacement for the aging leader because of his close ties to the Guardians and his ambitions to become the highest religious authority. With Raisi no longer an option, Khamenei can choose his own successor.
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IRGC guesthouse where Ismail Haniyeh was murdered
(Photo: Screenshot)
A manhunt was launched within the IRGC while the new president fought against his political backers in parliament to form his government.
The internal fighting has delayed Iran’s revenge on Israel. Reports – some leaked, some deliberately fabricated – tell of a fierce dispute between those in the IRGC who want to bomb Tel Aviv and Pezeshkian and his allies, who insist that a war against Israel would be against Iran’s national interests. This view is shared by 75 percent of the population, who wonder what could come of a devastating war that would further weaken Iran’s already ailing economy – all because Iranians killed a Palestinian terrorist living in Qatar.
Pezeshkian does not fit the Western definition of a reformer. Many of his views on social issues are backward and repugnant, which explains how he rose to power with Khamenei’s quiet help. But right now he is fighting hard to bring about a historic change of priorities for the Iranian government, putting the economy first and putting off, if ever, the vision of an Islamic nuclear empire until later.
