Iranian commentator says ruling establishment failing at home and abroad, warns of 'final days'

Iranian writer Aliakbar Omidmehr argues that the country’s ruling clerical–military establishment has failed in both domestic and foreign policy and is nearing its “final days.” In a commentary, he links what he describes as erratic decision‑making to a leadership that, in his view, knows its time is running out.

Framing his critique in historical terms, Omidmehr contrasts past foreign invaders who, he writes, became absorbed into Iranian culture with what he calls today’s “homegrown” rulers. He contends that the current leadership demeans Iran’s heritage and environment and has prioritized actions that damage the nation’s standing.

On foreign policy, Omidmehr claims that if the government were confident of its survival, it would not have attacked Arab countries of the Persian Gulf with missiles and drones or risked future relations with neighbors. He further asserts that closing the Strait of Hormuz has effectively set Iran against the international community, and characterizes such moves as “suicidal” steps that hasten a regime’s collapse rather than prolong it.

Turning to domestic policy, he alleges the authorities have kept internet access for ordinary users cut for more than two months despite what he describes as losses in the billions. Drawing a comparison with Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, he says the Islamic Republic now has, after Libya, the second‑longest internet shutdown on record, and argues it persists because officials fear nationwide coordination of protests.

Omidmehr maintains that major political upheavals have succeeded without modern communications, citing the French Revolution in October 1789 and the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. He concludes that restricting the internet may push more in‑person organizing, and that a single destabilizing mistake by the state could, in his view, set the stage for a decisive nationwide uprising.