Split among the authorities is about to happen in Iran - Middle East researcher Danilov

Serhiy Danilov, deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said this on Espreso.

According to him, the arrest of the niece has no significance for Ayatollah Khamenei, but is very revealing from the point of view of the situation in the Iranian government.

"Khamenei's flank is part of a continuum of people who are close to or are in power. From those scant news reports, one can conclude that a split is about to happen or has already occurred within the ruling group. This is a very important signal for the protesters and those who follow the situation in Iran," Danilov emphasized.

The Middle East researcher noted that popular protests are already ongoing in the country, and the split of elites and the political representation that the protesters must form in order to win also play an important role. Another component, but optional, is the transfer of the army or its part to the side of the participants of the actions, but at the moment this is not happening.

"This is evidence of the state in which the ruling groups and those close to them find themselves in a brutal internal struggle," concluded Serhiy Danilov, deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.