Iran's ruling factions remain unified in pursuing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorist proxies despite internal differences, with the regime "never" expected to change course, Ali Safavi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and an Iranian parliament member in exile, told Newsmax on Sunday.
"Well, to be honest, various factions within the Iranian regime throughout the 47 years of rule of this dictatorship are all cut from the same cloth," Safavi said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend."
"They may differ in tactics, but strategically they are all in for the continuation of the nuclear weapons program, support for the proxy terrorist groups, and of course, suppressing the Iranian people," he added.
Safavi said any divisions within Tehran's leadership amount to minor differences rather than meaningful policy splits.
"So there may be some nuances, but at the end of the day, they're basically the same," he said. "And interestingly, those who came to the negotiating table, the speaker of the parliament, the foreign minister, and they're both die-hard and veteran IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] commanders."
He pointed to recent developments as reinforcing his long-held view of the regime's intentions.
"And clearly, I think what happened yesterday proved what we have been saying all along, that this regime will never abandon its nuclear weapons program. It will never stop funding and training its terrorist proxies. And, of course, it will not abate in suppressing the Iranian people," Safavi said.
Safavi also cited recent executions as an example of continued repression by Tehran.
"Case in point, the execution of 13 dissidents, including six members of the main Iranian opposition, the Mujahideen, last week," he said.
Asaf Romirowsky, executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, also on Sunday's program, said internal divisions do not change the regime's grip on power.
"The fact of the matter is, I have no disagreement with what my colleague is saying here," Romirowsky said.
"I mean, the fact is that these axis of oppression forces are still controlled by the regime itself. There's still enough power that the IRGC has. And so any opposition forces really are being squashed."
Romirowsky said the regime may have suffered setbacks but its ideology remains intact.
While agreeing the leadership has been "decapitated," Romirowsky said "the ideology is still alive and well, and they're the ones who are controlling what's going on."
He added that control of key economic and strategic routes will be a major factor going forward.
"Now, obviously, the main concern going forward, economically speaking, is going to be who's controlling the Straits of Hormuz, and that is the IRGC," Romirowsky said. "And we're going to see probably more activity in that area for sure. So that's part of what you're going to see play out here."
"So long as they're in power, this tyrannical regime and the suppressive, you know, repression forces are going to continue to squash any opposition forces," he said.
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