Ali Khamenei: A Criminal in Disguise

Abstract

This opinion article presents the author's view of Ali Khamenei and the regime of the Iranian Ayatollahs. It recounts that after the 1979 revolution and the removal of the Shah, the Iranian people expected an improved social and economic situation, but the new theocratic regime took control with an iron fist through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia, and that under Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, living and educational standards declined and women's rights were impaired. The author argues that, to distract attention from corruption and economic difficulties, the regime blamed Israel as an external enemy on the basis of claims the author regards as deceptive, and compares the outcome of the Iranian revolution with other revolutions whose results deviated from their original aims. The article describes what it considers the regime's main crimes: neglect of its own people, spending on military build-up and on terror organizations, particularly in the Middle East, oppression of women, and the construction of a ‘ring of fire’ of armed groups around Israel. Noting the economic difficulties caused by Western sanctions and the risk of a world war, the author concludes that restraining the regime would require its eradication, particularly of its leader, and the division of Iran into several states according to ethnicity.

Abstract prepared by the editorial office from the full text of the article; the authors did not supply one.