The Iranian president has made an appearance! It came as a big surprise to the United States, which had assumed that after Ayatollah Khamenei's death, the Iranian president would turn into a pro-American faction. However, Pezeshkian's attitude towards the US turned out to be extremely strong-willed! On March 1st, Iranian President Pezeshkian delivered a speech to the whole country, saying: "We will destroy the enemy's bases and capabilities, putting them in despair. In the face of the enemy's plans, we must unite."
Evidently, this public statement by Pezeshkian has clearly surprised the United States. Originally, it was expected that after the successful assassination of Khamenei, the pro-American faction within Iran would gain power. But the result is that Pezeshkian, seen as a moderate and pro-Western figure, has taken an extremely firm stance against the United States. The message Pezeshkian sends is very clear: he will not compromise with the US and Israel, and Iran will firmly retaliate against the US and Israel.
Why does Pezeshkian take such a position? There are probably three reasons. First, he is a reformist and considered "moderate and pro-Western." If he shows weakness towards the US and Israel at this time, he would be seen as "treasonous and collaborating with the enemy." With Khamenei's body still warm and the whole country in mourning, showing weakness would mean self-destruction of his political life. Second, from the perspective of Iran's internal power structure, there is no doubt that Khamenei held the highest position. However, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controls the military, intelligence, and economic lifelines, and has a veto power over the successor, with actual power even exceeding that of the president.
If someone dares to be pro-American now, the revolutionary guards, who are eager for revenge, could directly depose or even physically eliminate such people. Third, with Khamenei's death, overall in Iran, anti-American sentiment has overshadowed dissatisfaction with the Iranian regime. Faced with the rising public opinion, the Iranian president certainly cannot ignore it. Fourth, the US and Israel aim to overthrow the entire Iranian system. Although Khamenei is dead, this system still exists. In fact, the Iranian president was one of the targets of the Israeli attack. Therefore, Khamenei's death will only allow the hardliners against the US to continue to hold power, and the US's hope that Iran would surrender internally and let the pro-American faction take power is clearly unrealistic.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858468073715979/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.