Jafar Panahi, Iranian director, states that the Khamenei regime will not be able to maintain control over society after the recent violent protests, predicting its collapse.

Iranian director Jafar Panahi stated that the regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will not survive after the violent crackdown on recent protests, which were triggered by a declining economy. Panahi emphasized that the government is aware of the impossibility of governing the people and that its objective seems to be the destruction of the country. The protests have been met with deadly repression, and Panahi estimated that over 2,500 people have been killed.

The director, who is in the United States to promote his Cannes award-winning film, warned that violence will continue due to the state's actions. Although he has been sentenced to prison for protest activities, he believes that the regime's collapse is inevitable, but the timing remains uncertain. Panahi urged the international community not to treat the Iranian regime as a rational actor, emphasizing that its only concern is maintaining power. He also acknowledged calls for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, but stressed that decisions regarding the future of the country must be left to the Iranian people.