The Iranian regime is engulfed in deadly crisis, and mullahs find no way to get out.

The Iranian regime is in a desperate situation. It has been dealing with crisis after crisis over the past few years and it is very clear to see that it has no way of surviving.

Infighting between the factions is increasing and it is opening the ways for further unrest in the country.

One major stumbling point for the regime right now is the legalization regarding the combat against the funding of terrorism that is managed through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Without adopting this legislation, the Iranian regime will not be able to access the world’s banking system – something that is putting the brake on the regime’s economy.

The different factions cannot agree on the way forward with regard to this. Some officials have said it is absolutely essential for the legislation to be passed, but other officials have pointed out that doing so would be tantamount to self-sanctioning because it would not be able to fund the Quds Force (the extra-territorial branch of the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC). The Quds Force is the main enforcer of the country’s malign foreign policy.

The Quds Force has been instrumental in getting the regime to where it is today. The training, arming, and financing of terrorist groups is a pillar of the regime. The Quds Force is controlled by the IRGC which is considered a terrorist organization by the American government. Adopting the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) legislation will stop the IRGC from controlling the Iranian economy and from draining it of its resources is a suicidal move.

Another major crisis the regime is facing is with regards to the upcoming parliamentary elections. These so-called democratic elections are anything but democratic. More than 90 current members of parliament have already been disqualified by the regime’s Guardian Council that is tasked with “overseeing” and “supervising” the elections and the candidates. The Guardian Council is controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The majority of the 90 candidates that have already been disqualified are part of the Supreme Leader’s rival faction – that of President Hassan Rouhani.

The Iranian President is, quite understandably, very annoyed with this move. It is also deeply concerning news to Rouhani because it is surely going to lead to further unrest in the country. He spoke about the regime’s history of engineering elections, highlighting that there are always issues with the “vote-count process”.

Rouhani very boldly told the rival faction that no one “is above the law”!

Khamenei, by eliminating members of the rival faction, is trying to unify the regime.

Rouhani wants to prolong the regime’s survival by rapprochement with the West. Khamenei’s faction strongly opposes this and, in any case, rapprochement with the West is unlikely to happen given that European governments and the United States are cracking down on the regime’s belligerence and support for terrorism.

Whatever direction the regime takes, the people of Iran are determined to pressure it until it collapses. The people are saying “no” to the regime’s abuse of human rights, its terrorism, and its brutality.