Iran’s regime faces ‘intense pressure’ due to impending Trump administration policies, regional losses and economic woes
JERUSALEM — Elected President Donald Trump’s plans to restart a maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, coupled with the country’s chronic gas shortages, could provide a one-two punch to topple the world’s worst-affected country, one person said. state sponsors of terrorism.
“The gas shortage in Iran is so severe that it exposes the regime’s growing vulnerability on multiple fronts. From the defeat of Hezbollah and Hamas in their conflicts with Israel, to the losses of the Houthis in Yemen, and the growing vulnerability of the regime under Assad With the collapse of the Syrian regime, we’re seeing a continued erosion of the regime’s influence,” Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert and editor-in-chief of “The Diplomacy Desk,” told Fox News Digital.
She continued, “On top of that, the rial has plummeted and despite sanctions easing and billions of dollars being diverted through lopsided deals under Biden, resource management has been appalling – the It is no surprise that the regime is under intense pressure.
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Tehran, Iran – December 19: On December 19, 2024, power outages and traffic lights occurred across the country, including Tehran, the capital of Iran. has extended into winter. Schools and public institutions in many cities have been closed due to power outages, while in some areas education will continue online. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu, Getty Images)
“With President Trump likely to return to a leadership stance emphasizing maximum pressure, the Iranian people may find themselves in an environment ripe for demanding regime change,” Daftari said.
Widespread power outages and acute shortages of natural gas for households have alarmed Iran’s rulers. The rulers who control Iran are extremely anxious about social and political unrest and are quick to inflict violence on large-scale dissent.
In 2019 and 2022, Tehran’s regime was rocked by nationwide protests over fuel prices and violent crackdowns on women who failed to wear the mandatory headscarf correctly.
In 2019, Fox Digital News reported that the Iranian regime killed at least 106 people protesting against rising fuel prices. Three years later, in 2022, the regime’s notorious morality police murdered a young woman, Martha Amini, because she did not adequately cover her hair. Protests in 2022 evolved into widespread calls across the country to disband the Islamic Republic.
The head of Iran’s judiciary has issued directives to prevent unrest due to power and gas outages, London-based Iran International News reported on Tuesday.
In 2022, demonstrators in Iran protested against the current regime. (Source: NCRI)
According to reports, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, said that “the nation’s prosecutors general and prosecutors should cooperate directly with intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies and take all appropriate measures and Arrangements to stabilize and enhance security “in the interests of the people and citizens, and to take relevant measures as in the past, even more resolutely, to thwart the enemy’s plot to create insecurity…”
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TEHRAN, Iran – DECEMBER 19: Power outages are occurring across the country, including in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on December 19, 2024. Schools and public institutions in many cities have been closed due to power outages, but in some areas education will continue online. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu, Getty Images)
Although Iran has vast natural gas and oil reserves, years of underinvestment, economic mismanagement, corruption and sanctions have left the energy industry unprepared for the seasonal surge.
Over the years, the Islamic Republic has also poured significant funds into its terrorist proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Matthew Levitt, a counterterrorism expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Iran provides Hezbollah with about $700 million to $1 billion a year, and Hamas provides $100 million a year.
President-elect Donald Trump points in the direction during America Day, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. On Monday, Trump pledged to have the Justice Department pursue death sentences after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 inmates. (AP Photo/Rick Scutli)
Iran’s rial fell to a record low on December 18, devaluing more than 10% since Trump won the presidential election in November, representing a new challenge for Tehran as it remains mired in war in the Middle East. middle.
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Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) meets with Syrian leader Bashar Assad (left) in Tehran, Iran, on February 25, 2019. (Iranian Leader’s Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Iran’s central bank has in the past injected more hard currency into the market in an attempt to raise interest rates.
Iran’s currency tumbled on Wednesday after it ordered schools, universities and government offices to close as harsh winter conditions exacerbated an energy crisis. The crisis follows a summer of power outages and is now being exacerbated by freezing temperatures, snowfall and air pollution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
