Iran’s New President Pezeshkian Vows to Continue Terrorism and Proxy Support

Iran regime’s media have reported that Masoud Pezeshkian, the winner of the 14th presidential election, has emphasized supporting Iran’s proxy groups and strengthening relations with Russia.

On Monday, July 8, in a message to Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in response to his congratulatory message, Pezeshkian referred to the Islamic Republic’s support for “resistance” and said that this support “will continue with strength.”

The authorities of the Iranian regime have given Iran’s proxy groups in the Middle East, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the extremist group Hamas, Yemen’s Houthis, and Shia militia groups in Iraq, the title of “axis of resistance.”

The Reuters news agency has noted that this statement indicates that Iran’s regional policies will remain “unchanged” under the government of Masoud Pezeshkian.

Like his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, Pezeshkian believes that “supporting resistance” is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Iranian regime, Khomeini’s (founder of the Iranian regime) ideals, and Ali Khamenei’s (current supreme leader) guidelines, which must be “strongly” continued.

The death of Ebrahim Raisi occurred in a situation where the Iranian regime and its proxy groups have been involved in continuous tension with Israel and indirect conflict with the United States for months, which could lead the region to a devastating war at any moment.

In his first message, Ali Khamenei advised Pezeshkian to continue the path of Raisi. The Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards also expressed confidence that Pezeshkian will “act by mobilizing capacities and opportunities for the victory of the system in the economic war and protecting the authority of the system in international forums.” Hossein Salami emphasized that the IRGC is ready to cooperate with Pezeshkian in implementing Khamenei’s policies.

In his views on the Palestinian issue, opposition to America, and support for the Revolutionary Guards and proxy groups, Pezeshkian is not much different from Raisi.

On April 8, 2019, when the then US government declared the Revolutionary Guards as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), Pezeshkian and other regime MPs presented a plan called “Strengthening the Position of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Against the United States.” This plan has been considered one of the roots of the next tensions between the Iranian regime and the US government in the coming years.

It should be noted that Iranian-backed Iraqi militias conducted over 190 attacks targeting US forces in Iraq and Syria between October 2023 and February 2024. Prior to this time frame, Iranian-backed groups were responsible for at least 603 US personnel killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.

The strengthening and development of the Revolutionary Guards in recent decades have been due to the support of representatives such as regime officials. After Qassem Soleimani was killed by the US government in Iraq in a drone attack, Pezeshkian once again openly supported the IRGC and the regional tension-generating policies of the Iranian regime, showcasing this by wearing the IRGC uniform in parliament.

In his campaign debates, Pezeshkian called Qassem Soleimani a “national hero” and, referring to the IRGC’s drone and missile program, said: “One of the reasons why others cannot do anything against Iran is the IRGC.”

Pezeshkian’s opinions in recent years, contrary to what was shown in advertisements during his presidential campaign by criticizing the former government and the IRGC, now clearly show that he is close to the IRGC and in line with advancing the regime’s macro policy of supporting proxy groups and opposing the West.

According to him, he will follow the opinion of the regime’s supreme leader in directing the regime and its policies, including the appointment of ministers.

In 2009, Pezeshkian once said: “The supreme leader is everything from which we have our life, faith, and belief.”