Editorial: Le Monde

• The Iranian regime lost both the president of the Islamic Republic and a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
• Ebrahim Raïssi, who died in a helicopter crash, was a faithful follower of the line imposed by Khamenei and represented the ultra-conservative transformation of the Islamic Republic.
• Raïssi's mandate was mainly marked by the violent repression of the protest movement.
• High abstention in recent elections shows the growing gap between frustrated Iranian society and the regime.
• The regime firmly maintains its hardline stance and its internal mechanisms only allow for a self-reproduction from which Iranians feel excluded.
• The regime is not free from problems, such as internal terrorism or external attacks, and an atmosphere of unpredictability increases the risk of misinterpretation.
• Internal and external pressure can push Iran into seeking nuclear weapons, which in turn increases the risk of nuclear proliferation in the region.

Conclusion: The signs point to a continuation of the chasm between Iran's regime and its citizens, and holding onto its hardline stance will only increase internal and regional instability.

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