Former British Security Minister Thomas Tugendhat said in an interview with British television station Sky News today that the current regime in Iran cannot regain legitimacy and that its end is a matter of time.
"This is a fundamental turning point. Does this mean that everything will be over tomorrow? Not necessarily. It may take weeks, maybe even months, maybe even a year or two, but there is no way this regime will regain its legitimacy. And what we are seeing now is the death throes of a violent regime," Tugendat said.
He added that the value of the Iranian rial at the time of the Islamic Revolution was very close to the value of the dollar; a few years ago, one dollar was worth between 200 and 300 thousand rials, while one dollar is now worth about one and a half million rials.
"Inflation is incredible, people are hungry, there are problems with water supply. Even the rural base of the revolution has lost that connection (with the regime) because of water problems, and in the past few months we have seen members of the Iranian elite buying gold in the United Arab Emirates, as a hedge against the collapse of the currency," Tugendat said.
He added that this "does not show the regime's long-term confidence", and that it is clear that it is "looking for a way out".
Former minister Tugendhat said that the UK has historically been "involved in the situation in Iran for a very, very long time", which has not always "went well", and that it is "the right thing" for the British to do to support the protesters by providing information about developments across their country.
"The satellite transmission is still reaching, so we need to make sure they know what is happening across Iran, about the support around the world. We should not interfere on the ground, it is the matter of the people of Iran. It is their legitimacy, it is their revolution," Tugendat said.
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