“We can assume that Iran is here too “We have already planned for this moment to happen,” Fischer said in an interview with FOCUS online. The country’s leadership has been counting on this for years targeted killings by the Israeli secret service Mossad. “Because all Iranian leaders know that they are on the Mossad list and that sooner or later the Mossad and Israel will try to eliminate them,” said the expert.

“Larijani does not belong to the mullahs’ clique”

Larijani was considered a central figure in Tehran’s power structure. “Larijani does not belong to the mullahs’ clique. That means he is not a religious leader. Ultimately, he was a secular leader of this regime,” explains Fischer. It was precisely this special position that made him an influential player in the security apparatus.

Despite the loss, Fischer does not see any weakening of the system in the short term. Rather, the regime is structurally prepared to quickly compensate for failures. “The regime will try to appoint a replacement in the next day or two. They don’t even have to look for one because they will have prepared it.” The real question is: “How long the game works so that you can find a replacement who is also an equal replacement.”

“This is also a strength of the regime”

The Power structure in Tehran is complex and spread across several pillars – from the religious leadership to the Security Council to militias and the Revolutionary Guard. This structure in particular makes it difficult for external actors to achieve a targeted, sustainable impact.

“It is also a strength of the regime that it has been able to design its command and command structures in such a way that the West (…) does not have a clear, clear picture of who is moving up,” explains Fischer. Politically, there is hardly any change in course. Unlike in Western democracies, a change in personnel in Iran does not automatically lead to a new line. The War in the Middle East is likely to continue with undiminished severity.