Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei makes first public appearance in weeks
Trump increases pressure on Iran as tensions rise
Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl reports the latest developments regarding the tension with Iran from West Palm Beach, Florida. Andrew Borene of the National Security Institute also joins ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss increasing military pressure in the Middle East.
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According to opposition groups operating outside the country, the Iranian regime published staged photographs of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in order to demonstrate its power and strengthen the army under pressure.
Photos published by Iranian state media on January 31 marked Khamenei’s first public appearance in weeks and showed him praying at the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, as regime officials issued new threats against the United States and Europe.
Senior official Ali Safavi National Council of Resistance of IranHe said that the images were aimed at boosting the morale of the regime’s weakened security forces rather than reassuring the public.
“The images of Ali Khamenei were pure propaganda,” Safavi told Fox News Digital. “He wanted to show that he wasn’t afraid to die, but at the same time he was desperately trying to boost the morale of the demoralized forces.”
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei appeared in public for the first time in weeks with new US threats. (Office of the Supreme Leader of IranCredit/Associated Press)
Safavi said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remains the backbone of the regime’s power but is showing signs of strain after weeks of suppressing nationwide protests.
“The purpose of these images is to project power and support oppressive forces,” he said. “But in fact, the regime is shaken by the fact that the criminal gang cannot break the will of the people, and Khamenei knows that the situation will never return to the situation before December 28.”
The publication of the photographs coincided with the European Parliament’s call to designate the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation.
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Opposition groups said the religious leader attended prayers at the founder’s tomb as authorities issued new threats against the United States and Europe. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran/Associated Press)
“The Revolutionary Guard is the backbone of this regime,” Safavi said. “The division can only occur after a radical change in the balance of powers and with the presence of organized resistance on the ground. Only then will the divisions in the lower echelons of the army become meaningful.”
According to reports, Tehran reacted angrily to Europe’s move, with Iranian lawmakers wearing Revolutionary Guard uniforms in a highly choreographed show of solidarity.
A banner reading “The Revolutionary Guard is the largest counterterrorism organization in the world” was displayed at the speaker’s podium, and the IRGC flag was prominently featured. Times of Israel.
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Opposition groups say the Iranian regime projects its power through staged images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during prayers. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran/Associated Press)
“We saw the same thing when the United States declared the Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019,” Safavi said.
“More than half of these lawmakers are former IRGC commanders,” he added. “The IRGC dominates Iran’s economy and penetrates the executive, legislative and judicial branches, as well as educational institutions.”
After the United States sent a naval strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region, Khamenei warned in comments carried by Iranian state media on Sunday that any military action would trigger a broader regional conflict.
“We are not the ones who started the war,” Khamenei said. “But if America attacks or harms Iran, the Iranian nation will deal a powerful blow, and any war America starts will spread throughout the region,” he said. reports.
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President Donald Trump said Sunday that if Iran cannot reach an agreement on its nuclear program, “we will find out” whether Khamenei’s warning was true.
“Doing business with Iran means doing business with the Revolutionary Guards,” Safavi said. “The Revolutionary Guards are the regime itself, even the clergy.”
