A senior representative of a Paris-based Iranian opposition organization said that the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic will not lead to the removal of the country's clerical leadership, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
According to Mohammad Mohadesin, head of the foreign policy department of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), only a popular uprising supported by the internal resistance could bring about such a change.
Airstrikes have been going on for almost two weeks, with casualties in Iran exceeding 2,000 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a number of senior military and security officials.
Iran's response has caused chaos in energy markets and transport links, and also This has led to the spread of the conflict to other countries in the Middle East. At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has tightened its grip on power and threatened to crush any attempt at rebellion.
"The 12-day war in June and the current war, which has been going on for 12 days, have proven that bombing cannot topple the regime," Mohadessin told a news conference in the French capital.
"Even if 50,000 soldiers are deployed on the ground, the support of the Iranian people will be needed. A popular uprising is needed. "The combination of these 50,000 or 20,000 or any other number (of soldiers) with a popular uprising provides the necessary force to overthrow the regime," Mohadesin added.
However, he noted that he did not consider the deployment of American troops on the ground a realistic possibility. The IRGC is a coalition of Iranian opposition groups led by the "Mujahedeen and the People" (People's Mujahedeen) - a group that the United States had declared a terrorist organization until 2012. The activities of the "Mujahedeen and the People" are banned in Iran and it is unclear how much support the movement has among the population.
Mohadesin acknowledged that the IRGC cannot overthrow the regime in Iran alone, but according to him, after the cessation of airstrikes in Iran, mass protests will break out again, which could ultimately change the balance.