The Iranian government is facing extreme security crises. The latest explosion at Iran’s uranium enrichment facility in Natanz speaks volumes about this situation. Crises which are now joining the social crises and making the situation even worse for the government. Another fact about its weakness is its isolation in the region.
These situations cumulated show the government is in a process of deep decay. Many of its forces have now defected and are working for foreign services, as it was seen in the assassination of the Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi, a commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and a senior official in the nuclear program of Iran.
Similarly, the latest explosion in Natanz’s nuclear facility shows how deep the intelligence services of other nations have penetrated the most important security centers, which is alarming for the regime and shows its weakness.
There is also another conclusion to be made from the Natanz explosion. Despite what Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and commanders of the Revolutionary Guards want to show, their forces are weak in confronting the people.
The state-run daily Setareh-e-Sobh on April 13, describing the current critical situation of the regime in the region, in an article by a government expert wrote:
“With the strengthening of Israel’s military and security alliances with the sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf, the regime’s security links in the region have become more limited, and the level of pressure from those countries is increasing. Issues such as the Saviz ship, attacks on Syrian positions and the recent incident in Natanz show this.
“Meanwhile, the recent incident in Natanz has another message, and that message is that, unfortunately, the country’s defense and security system is in trouble against foreign sabotage, including the Israeli regime’s attack on nuclear sites, and this major weakness needs to be compensated as soon as possible.”
Ali Bigdeli, a government expert, said about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) talks with world powers in Vienna:
“As livelihood and economic problems put pressure on the Iranian people, the diplomatic team needs to do its utmost to resolve the issue of the JCPOA by taking on the task from within. If the system fails to resolve this issue in the current situation, [US President Joe] Biden would also conclude that he must return to the Arab and Israeli worlds and increase the pressure on (the regime).
“So, my suggestion is that the authorities show more flexibility at this critical juncture. To say that a verification should be done is not in the text of JCPOA at all, and the United States cannot promise that a French or German company, for example, would come and invest in Iran.
“These issues also depend on Iran’s foreign trade policies and the acceptance of certain international rules and regulations, such as the FATF Bills, and to expect countries to commit to Iran’s corporate trade cooperation is an expectation beyond the basics of political science. Therefore, it is hoped that on Wednesday, when the diplomatic team enters a new round of negotiations on the revival of the JCPOA in Vienna, they will negotiate more flexibly.”
The state-run daily Setareh-e-Sobh wrote about the incident at the Natanz nuclear facility:
“This is not the first time that the finger of blame for the events and issues is pointing at Israel. On July 2, 2020, an incident that led to the failure of the Natanz Advanced Centrifuge Assembly Center was announced as Israel’s doing by some media outlets. Also on April 7, this year, the attack on the Iranian ship ‘Saviz’ in the Red Sea was attributed to Israel.
“Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the Research and Innovation Organization of the Ministry of Defense, was assassinated on November 27, 2020 in the ‘Ab Sard’ city of Damavand after a car exploded by firing with a remote-controlled machine gun.
“From 2009 to 2011, prominent Iranian nuclear figures and scientists, including Dr. Majid Shahriari, Dr. Masoud Ali Mohammadi, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and Dariush Rezainejad, were martyred during operations by attaching magnetic bombs to their cars, where the Ministry of Intelligence named Mossad as one of its perpetrators.”
Hesamodin Ashna, security advisor of Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani, showed the extremely weak position of his government as he said: “Iranians will continue their activities in both Natanz and Vienna. In Natanz by increasing the power of enrichment machines and in Vienna by reducing the bargaining power of the western sides.”
Which is a vise versa request for the continuation of the negotiations.
