Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, January 5
The protests we are witnessing in Iran are a dramatic sight and they must not be undermined. I have read and heard speculations about how the demonstrations will likely die off before any real changes are made on the ground. That’s certainly a possibility, but it is not the only one. Closely monitoring developments in Tehran is Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who is quickly realizing that the mullahs are not immune to public outrage. While some have idolized and venerated them, they, too, are beholden to the will of the people. Meanwhile, world powers, some of which previously insisted that Iran’s leaders are rational actors, have come to the inevitable conclusion that the regime is a force for evil. Iran, just like the Islamic State, seeks to establish a religious caliphate, albeit a Shiite and not Sunni one. Still, the strategy is similar for both: essentially, to destroy everything in their path while subjugating citizens and expanding military power. So the mullahs are now finding themselves ambushed, confronted both domestically and internationally. At home, they face raging protests and abroad they are coming under closer and closer scrutiny. What options do they have left? The mullahs can certainly continue to crush the protests, but something will eventually have to give. The Iranian regime will have to change or else be toppled. The current situation will force Tehran to choose between two options it dislikes. This is a situation that not even the Americans, in their wildest dreams, could have envisioned. – Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed