The helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-liner who was seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is another blow to the oppressive regime in Tehran that could eventually lead to its weakening, former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz told Newsmax on Monday.
Fleitz, who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, told "Newsline" that "I don't think this is going to bring down the Iranian regime, but there will be demonstrations and another chink in the armor of this oppressive, theocratic, regime and I hope it brings us close to the day when it is overthrown."
Fleitz noted that "many of the Iranian people hated Raisi [and that] yesterday Supreme Leader Khamenei called for prayers. Instead there were celebrations, not large celebrations, but there were also fireworks in Tehran to celebrate his death."
Fleitz also said that "sanctions sometimes work in mysterious ways."
He explained that "this was a head of state flying in an ancient helicopter with very primitive avionics, and we know that [former] President [Donald] Trump used maximum pressure sanctions that was denying Iran aircraft and aircraft parts."
Fleitz emphasized that "if Iran was not a state sponsor of terrorism, pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program, it would be able to easily buy aircraft and aircraft parts on the open market. This is what happens when you are a rogue state, and maximum pressure by President Trump may have brought this monster down."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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