According to opposition groups operating outside the country, the Iranian regime has released staged images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an effort to show strength and strengthen a military under pressure.
The photos, published by Iranian state media on January 31, marked Khamenei’s first public appearance in weeks and showed him praying at the grave of Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as regime officials issued new threats against the US and Europe.
Ali Safavi, a senior official at the National Council of Resistance of Iransaid the images were not intended so much to reassure the public but to boost morale among the regime’s weakening security forces.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN TOOK ‘FEW’ TIMES TO CREATE A DEAL WHEN CARRIER ENTERS MIDDLE EAST WATERS
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei appears in public for the first time in weeks with new American threats. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader Credit/Associated Press)
Safavi said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) remains the backbone of the regime’s power but is showing signs of strain after weeks of suppression of nationwide protests.
“These images are intended to radiate strength and strengthen the repressive forces,” he said. “But underneath, the regime is reeling from the reality that its criminal cabal cannot break the will of the people and Khamenei knows the situation will never return to what it was before December 28.”
The release of the photos coincided with calls from the European Parliament to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
HUNDREDS GATHER OUTSIDE THE FIFTH AVENUE RESIDENCE OF THE IRANIAN UN AMBASSADOR CALLING FOR REGIME CHANGE
The supreme leader was attending prayers at the founder’s grave as officials issued new threats against the US and Europe, opposition groups said. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/Associated Press)
“The IRGC is the backbone of this regime,” Safavi said. “Its disintegration can only take place after a fundamental shift in the balance of power and with the presence of organized resistance on the ground. Only then will defections at lower levels of the military become meaningful.”
Tehran reacted angrily to the European move, with Iranian lawmakers appearing in IRGC uniforms in a highly choreographed show of solidarity, reports said.
A banner was displayed on the speaker’s podium reading: “The Revolutionary Guard is the largest anti-terrorism organization in the world,” and the IRGC flag was prominently displayed, the report said. Times of Israel.
US military warns Iran it will not tolerate ‘unsafe’ actions ahead of live fire drills in HORMUZ Strait
The Iranian regime is projecting strength through staged images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during prayers, opposition groups say. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/Associated Press)
“We saw the same thing when the US designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization in 2019,” Safavi said.
“More than half of these lawmakers are former IRGC commanders,” he added. “The IRGC dominates Iran’s economy and pervades the executive, legislative and judiciary, as well as educational institutions.”
After the US sent a naval strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region, Khamenei also warned in comments carried by Iranian state media on Sunday that any military action would trigger a wider regional conflict.
“We are not the ones who start a war,” Khamenei said. “But if America attacks or harms Iran, the Iranian nation will be dealt a severe blow – and any war started by America will spread across the region,” he said. reports.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that if Iran does not reach an agreement on its nuclear program, “we will find out” whether Khamenei’s warning proves correct.
“Doing business with Iran means doing business with the IRGC,” Safavi said. “The IRGC is the regime – even the clerics.”
