Supreme Loser - By Ali Vaez | Foreign Policy: Khamenei's nuclear gamble has been painful for the Iranian people. Corralled by sanctions and plagued with mismanagement, the country's economy is ruined, its financial sector is paralyzed, and its energy sector is in shambles. This month, an ill-considered threat to halt trade with the United Arab Emirates caused the Iranian rial to go into a free-fall, hitting its lowest-ever mark against the U.S. dollar.
International developments have also not been kind to Tehran's ruling cabal. After marginalizing the reformists, the conservative factions of the Islamic regime are now engaged in a political fratricide. In the wake of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran's popularity in the region has plummeted. The Syrian regime, Tehran's sole regional ally, increasingly appears unable to resist the calls for change shaking the entire region.