By Amr Gohar
Washington DC – The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader has intensified debate about the future of the country’s political system, with opposition figures arguing that the moment represents the beginning of the end for decades of clerical rule.
Afshin Alavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said the absence of Ali Khamenei from Iran’s political scene marks a decisive moment that could open the path toward a democratic transition led by the Iranian people and organized resistance networks.
According to statements made by Alavi in interviews with international media, the current situation has left the ruling system of Velayat-e Faqih — the doctrine that underpins Iran’s clerical leadership — in what he described as a state of “complete disintegration” after years of internal pressure and recent military shocks linked to the ongoing regional conflict.
Alavi emphasized that the decisive change in Iran would ultimately come from within the country rather than from external forces. He said the Iranian people and underground “Resistance Units” aligned with the opposition movement would play a key role in shaping the next political phase.
“The final and fatal blow to this autocracy will only be delivered from within, by the hands of the Iranian people who reject guardianship in all its forms,” Alavi said.
The NCRI has also announced the activation of what it calls a Provisional Government, which it says is designed to oversee a transitional period aimed at transferring sovereignty to the Iranian people. The proposed plan is based on a political framework introduced by NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi.
According to Alavi, the transitional administration would govern for a maximum of six months before organizing nationwide free elections to select representatives for a Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution for a democratic republic.
Alavi further claimed that resistance groups have already expanded their operations across Iran. He stated that resistance units recently carried out dozens of coordinated actions targeting government institutions in more than twenty Iranian cities and alleged that hundreds of members were involved in attacks on sites associated with the Iranian leadership prior to the current conflict.
Addressing competing visions for Iran’s future, Alavi rejected both a return to monarchical rule and the continuation of clerical governance. He reiterated the opposition’s long-standing slogan opposing both the former Shah’s regime and the current Islamic Republic, warning against what he described as attempts to revive hereditary rule or recreate security structures similar to the former SAVAK intelligence apparatus.
He also warned that proposals for extended transitional rule or military-style governance could lead to instability and internal conflict.
Alavi said that a democratic transition would require dismantling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other security institutions tied to the current system, while establishing a secular political structure guaranteeing equal rights for men and women, abolishing the death penalty, and committing to a non-nuclear Iran.
“The era of religious tyranny has effectively ended,” Alavi said, adding that the opposition movement believes its proposed transitional framework offers the most viable path toward stability and democratic governance in the country.