| Will Iran Be Free? Last weekend, the United States and Israel launched a massive attack on Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed, but the regime continues to fight for survival. Exactly two months earlier, on December 28, widespread mass demonstrations broke out in protest of the severe economic despair gripping the country. Iran’s clerical regime responded with extraordinary violence, massacring up to tens of thousands of people. Soon after the war began, the U.S. president called on Iranians to take control of their country, but that won’t be easy. Will this finally be the opportunity for Iran to break free? Following is a selection of the Journal of Democracy’s coverage of the Islamic Republic, its tightening grip on the people amid rising economic and political instability, and the growing restiveness of a people yearning for freedom. |
| Iran’s Massacres Will Haunt the Regime Iran’s hardline government responded to nationwide protests with horrific violence, killing thousands of Iranians in a matter of days. There is nothing the regime can offer its people to regain their support. Ehsan Habibpour and Sharan Grewal The Islamic Republic’s War on Iranians Iran’s theocracy has waged a brutal campaign against its own citizens for years. Now that the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has stripped the regime of any legitimacy, the mullahs have had no response but to sharpen their instruments of repression. Ladan Boroumand Why Iran Is Entering a Dangerous Moment The country’s recent elections revealed deep fissures in Iranian society and there is already growing disillusionment with the new president. With mounting economic worries, Iran is in a volatile state. Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar The Empty Promise of Iran’s New President Masoud Pezeshkian won’t be a “reformer” in any genuine sense. Like all Iranian presidents, he has pledged his loyalty to Iran’s supreme leader. What he really offers is a softer version of Iran’s grim repression. Ladan Boroumand Is Iran on the Verge of Another Revolution? There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back. Asef Bayat Why Women Are Leading the Fight in Iran Iran’s women were the Islamic Republic’s first target for repression. This is the newest chapter in their struggle to win back their rights. Ladan Boroumand Iran Erupts Iranians are once again flooding the streets in protest. How is this wave of demonstrations different? Peyman AsadzadeAuthoritarian Survival: Iran’s Republic of Repression The Islamic Republic is in a volatile, even prerevolutionary situation, hammered by foreign opposition and sanctions from the outside, and the disillusionment and discontent of its own people from within. But a catalyst needs to appear. Misagh Parsa |
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| Image credit: Majidreza / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images |
