Iran Faces a Growing Internal Crisis

-
Image
  By Chuck Wald We have passed the six-month mark of the war between the United States and the Iranian regime. Whatever Tehran’s rhetoric may suggest, its theocratic dictatorship is weaker today than at any point since its establishment in the aftermath of the 1979 Revolution. As this situation continues to unfold, it is increasingly important for Western governments and the broader international community to consider the policies needed to help bring about change driven not by foreign intervention, but by the Iranian people and their organized resistance.  The country’s economy, already suffering from years of decline before the war, is now exhibiting some of its worst indicators in decades, including inflation exceeding 100 percent on key consumer goods. Predictably, these pressures have intensified factional infighting within the regime. The turmoil has been compounded by the loss of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, February 28.  Khamenei has be...
Post a Comment

Iran to Increase Enriched Uranium Above Limit Tomorrow

-
By Pooya Stone
A representative for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Wednesday that Tehran would speed up its enrichment of uranium on Thursday after a deadline they gave to European countries to protect them from US sanctions is due to expire, according to the IRIB news agency.



The organization’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said: “The deadline of the Atomic Energy Organization for passing the production of enriched uranium from the 300-kilogram border will end tomorrow. With the end of this deadline, the speed of enrichment will speed up.”
This will violate the nuclear deal and several powers have warned Iran against enriching uranium past the maximum 3.67% enshrined in the deal, fearing that this takes Iran one step closer to a nuclear weapon. (When the nuclear deal was agreed in 2015, experts believed Iran needed between several weeks and three months to have enough material for a bomb.)
Tom Plant, the director of proliferation and nuclear policy at London’s Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, said: “[These] reserves of material [could] in the future support a more rapid push to the higher levels of enrichment that are suitable for weapons use.”
Kelsey Davenport, the director of nonproliferation policy at the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said: “If Iran begins stockpiling uranium enriched to higher levels, the breakout timeline would decrease more quickly.”
The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said on Tuesday that Iran would take further steps on July 7 to decrease its compliance with commitments under its nuclear deal with world powers, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Acton (JCPOA).
The US sanctions were imposed by Donald Trump after he took the US out of the nuclear deal last year, citing Iranian noncompliance and saying that the deal failed to address Iran’s other malign behaviour.
Corey Hinderstein, a vice president at the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative who once led the U.S. Energy Department’s Iran task force, said: “I worry about the snowball effect. Iran now takes a step which puts Europe and the other members of the deal in an even tougher position.”
Ian Stewart, a professor at King’s College London who runs its antiproliferation studies program called Project Alpha, said: “It’s not clear at which point the EU will have to back away from a noncompliant Iran.”
Tensions have been growing between Iran and the US for a while now, recently ramping up after Tehran ime shot down a US drone over international waters and attacked several tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: iranfocus

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

International Dignitaries Rally for a New Iran Policy, Support NCRI as Democratic Alternative

-
Image
  Written by Shamsi Saadati Paris, France  – On Saturday, May 17, 2025, an influential international conference convened in Paris, uniting parliamentarians and prominent political figures from a wide array of countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The central theme of the gathering was the urgent need for a new, decisive international policy towards Iran, with a strong emphasis on supporting democratic change and recognizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a viable alternative to the current regime. The event served as a significant platform for global lawmakers to voice their concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, the regime’s escalating domestic repression, its destabilizing regional activities, and its persistent pursuit of a nuclear program. A recurring call throughout the conference was for Western governments to adopt a firmer stance, including the ...
Read more

When War Becomes an Excuse: How Economic Pressure Is Being Shifted Onto Ordinary People

-
Image
  By Reza Hoseani Iran’s economic crisis is no longer just a headline — it has become part of everyday life. Skyrocketing prices, the continuous collapse of the national currency, and shrinking household purchasing power are now affecting nearly every segment of society. But an important question remains: Are these hardships truly the direct result of war and external pressure, or are they rooted in domestic economic policies and political decisions? While state media repeatedly blame regional tensions and foreign conflicts for inflation and market instability, many economists argue that the current crisis is driven far more by internal policymaking than by war itself.   War as a Cover for Internal Economic Failure For years, whenever Iran’s economy entered a deeper phase of crisis, official narratives pointed to external enemies and international tensions. However, economic experts say the immediate impact of war rarely causes inflation on this scale in such a sho...
Read more

Intensifying U.S. Economic Pressure: Washington’s New Move Against the Mullahs’ Regime and Its Consequences

-
Image
  By Reza Hoseani Is Washington’s economic fury more effective than military warfare? An examination of the United States’ new sanctions targeting the IRGC’s financial lifelines and their impact on Iran’s explosive social environment. Amid the regime’s paralyzing deadlock between war and restraint, Washington has made its choice unmistakably clear: an all-out economic war instead of a large-scale military war. This choice is not the product of moderation. Rather, it reflects an understanding that economic pressure may be more lethal to the regime, less costly for the West, and more socially acceptable to the Iranian people than military intervention. 1. From “Maximum Pressure” to “Economic Fury”: The IRGC’s Lifelines in the Crosshairs In recent months, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has escalated economic pressure through two new initiatives. First came what has been described as Operation Economic Fury, announced by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He stated explicitly ...
Read more