It should not be forgotten that the Iran that was shaped by Khomeini has been an entirely different system that has been carried out for thirty years. It is a theocratic, fundamentalist, and revolutionary government system, which means that it is impervious to reform and incorrigible in nature.

With the ruthless suppression of opponents to silence the accusations of an obvious election fraud and doubts about the legitimacy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second term, the Islamic Republic of Iran has sealed its fate.

While we saw the bloody and fiery protests on the streets of Tehran as the manifestation of an electoral battle gone wrong, there is another battle happening in the background which the people did not exactly see.

In fact, Ahmadinejad was not up against Mousavi but the clerical elite of the ayatollahs who thrive on the specter of Khomeini. On one hand are the traditionalist clerics whose strength draws from the lineage of the Iranian Revolution thirty years ago, but who have become corrupt. On the other are the true guardians of the revolution.

Although the world did not see it, the duel was being waged between the clerics of Qom who have personally benefited from the 1979 Islamic revolution and the guardians of the revolution or the people who protect the revolution itself. For the latter, Ahmadinejad is at the helm.

With Ahmadinejad’s perpetuation in power, Iran will continue to stand its ground regarding its nuclear program, a crucial aspect when seen from Iran’s point of view with regards to Israel. Khameini, the ultimate political arbiter in the country, sees this that is why he is not lifting a finger to contest Ahmadinejad’s purported electoral victory.

Iran’s clerical elite are totally aware of the political situation in the Middle East. They know quite well that Ahmadinejad may just be indispensable at the moment as far as establishing a cohesive whole with the Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas in Gaza for purposes of the general destabilization of the Gulf and the confrontation with the West.

It is still all about the Islamist revolution. And the ayatollahs have come to realize that it has become a regional struggle in need of a nuclear armament program whose greatest champion happened to have cheated in the elections. In throwing their support behind an obvious election fraudster, we can imagine that it is the ayatollahs that have probably been losing sleep.

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