{"id":1167,"date":"2026-03-19T07:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T07:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shahvand.org\/en\/?p=1167"},"modified":"2026-03-19T07:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T07:36:59","slug":"handover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shahvand.org\/en\/handover\/","title":{"rendered":"Islamist Intransigence Blocks Handover"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Iran\u2019s Islamic regime will neither relinquish power nor accept unconditional defeat.<\/h2>\n<h2>By Raghu Kondori.<!--more--><\/h2>\n<p>Islamist movements have historically absorbed national devastation and mass casualties to retain rule\u2014as seen in Gaza, where Hamas endures, and in Lebanon, where Hezbollah remains active. Their strategic logic is asymmetric: persistence itself is framed as victory, whether through endless jihad or martyrdom. Under such conditions, the idea of a negotiated transition is not realism but illusion\u2014one that prolongs instability and sustains proxy war.<\/p>\n<p>Time, therefore, is the decisive variable. The faster Western powers recognize Prince Reza Pahlavi\u2019s leadership and his <strong>\u201cIran\u2019s Prosperity Project\u201d<\/strong> framework for a secular, democratic Iran, the narrower the window before systemic rupture. Early recognition can accelerate elite defections, activate internal uprisings under foreign air support, and compress the regime\u2019s decision cycle. The outcome is clear: regime collapse, restored internal order, secured energy corridors, and Iran\u2019s strategic realignment with the United States and Israel. Low risk, maximum leverage.<\/p>\n<p>The alternative is escalation. Targeting Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure would trigger immediate retaliation\u2014missile strikes across the region and disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. The consequences follow predictably: internal devastation, a global energy shock, cascading economic instability, weakened Western alliances, and strategic gains for the China\u2013Russia axis. High risk, diminished leverage.<\/p>\n<p>Back Prince Reza Pahlavi\u00a0and compress the conflict into a controlled transition; hesitate, and the vacuum will be filled by war.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1168\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1168\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1168 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/shahvand.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Shahvand-EN29-300x153.jpg\" alt=\"Iran\u2019s Islamic regime will neither relinquish power nor accept unconditional defeat.\" width=\"300\" height=\"153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shahvand.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Shahvand-EN29-300x153.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shahvand.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Shahvand-EN29-768x392.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shahvand.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Shahvand-EN29.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1168\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Handover. By Raghu Kondori.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran\u2019s Islamic regime will neither relinquish power nor accept unconditional defeat. By Raghu Kondori.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[233,185,174,234],"class_list":["post-1167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","tag-handover","tag-islamist","tag-prince-reza-pahlavi","tag-strait-of-hormuz"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Islamist Intransigence Blocks Handover - Shahvand think tank<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Islamist Intransigence Blocks Handover. 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