The infighting between various members of the regime’s parliament, a daily scene during Majlis sessions.

The Iranian regime has gone from a blow to blow in recent months. Since the US’s withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal last year, the regime has had to contend with strict financial sanctions and now the designation of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

The severely diminished position on the international stage has not gone unnoticed at home. The Iranian public is protesting with unprecedented frequency as the nation’s economic crisis deepens. The regime’s insistence that it is the “protector of the poor” looks increasingly like the fiction that it is, as the mullahs’ role in Iran’s economic collapse is becoming more apparent.

Raising the Alarm

The regime has attempted to maintain the veneer of stability, but the cracks are starting to show. Statements of concern from officials pepper the media and messages of alarm have begun to appear in the Iranian Majlis (parliament).

In its May 6 session, Amir Khojasteh, chair of the regime International Policies Commission, vented his frustrations. “This isn’t an economy,” he said, the inflation pressure on people’s shoulders is crushing them. Every day there is a new scenario. One day, it is the dollar and nobody pays attention. One day it is fuel. One day it’s about onions. 8,000 rials onions become 150,000 rials. This is a scenario. Who’s pulling the strings?”

While showing the increasing infighting between different rifts for a bigger share of power, he warned that “When we see inflation in the country and there isn’t a response [from the government], it will upset the people; it has driven the people angry.”

He was not alone in his concerns. His peer, Soheila Jolodarzadeh, raised similar concerns that the Iranian public is reaching the end of its tether. He cited corruption as a major barrier to reconciliation and contributing to the widening gap between the rich and poor.

““When paychecks are not increased according to the inflation rate and following the consequences of the devaluation of the national currency, the situation has become such that you can’t live under these circumstances anymore,” he said.

Lighting the Stack of Discontent

Naghavi Hosseini of the regime Parliament’s Security Commission, revealing the regime’s fear of the people’s protests, warned Hassan Rouhani (regime’s President) that if the price of fuel increases, the Iranian people may rise up in protest. “Today, talks were focused on fuel becoming more expensive. We shouldn’t in any way come to terms with such a thing. Fuel becoming more expensive means igniting the stack of discontent,” he said.

In reality, the stack has already been lit. The Iranian people are tired of the Majlis and the political infighting among all factions of the Iranian leadership. Their calls have been for Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) and her ten-point plan for a democratic Iran.

Staff writer