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In the past week and a half, the Islamic Republic of Iran has suffered a series of life-threatening convulsions. Demonstrations, supposedly led by presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, have erupted over a fraudulent election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has insisted that the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was reelected. "Reformist" protesters have gathered in huge rallies along the streets of Tehran and other cities, despite an increasingly harsh crackdown by the police and the government-backed militia. The people are publicly mourning the death of Neda, a young woman clad in a traditional headscarf and jeans that was shot in the chest during a rally. A media black-out has covered the country in a hard to penetrate veil - journalists have been urged to stay in their offices, text messaging, cell phone, and internet service are intermittent.
Although mass movements usually lead to change, revolution often starts from the top. Governments are not brought down by protests, but by those individuals who, once intricately involved in the regime, break away. When politically important people want the country to go in separate directions, the crumbling of the regime has begun. Suppression and brutal dictatorship only enhances the divide, and the chasm allows change.
Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Assembly of Experts - the body with the power to choose and dismiss the Supreme Leader - is rallying support to remove the current Supreme Leader from power. Many senior members of the parliament refuse to accept the election results.
Rumors suggest that a compromise may be in the works to save Iran from an inevitable collapse into chaos.
The people marching in the street, wearing green wrist bands, and shouting "God is Great" from rooftops are not advocating for regime change - they are begging for more freedom. However, the refusal to have a recount or another run-off election has placed the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime in a crisis of legitimacy. When people are disillusioned, the government no longer holds sway.
Although mass movements usually lead to change, revolution often starts from the top. Governments are not brought down by protests, but by those individuals who, once intricately involved in the regime, break away. When politically important people want the country to go in separate directions, the crumbling of the regime has begun. Suppression and brutal dictatorship only enhances the divide, and the chasm allows change.
Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Assembly of Experts - the body with the power to choose and dismiss the Supreme Leader - is rallying support to remove the current Supreme Leader from power. Many senior members of the parliament refuse to accept the election results.
Rumors suggest that a compromise may be in the works to save Iran from an inevitable collapse into chaos.
The people marching in the street, wearing green wrist bands, and shouting "God is Great" from rooftops are not advocating for regime change - they are begging for more freedom. However, the refusal to have a recount or another run-off election has placed the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime in a crisis of legitimacy. When people are disillusioned, the government no longer holds sway.