Almost three months after the current popular uprising against the Islamic Republic started in Iran, three things are clear.
The first is that even if the uprising hits an interlude to recuperate, as is often the case with such movements, it is unlikely to simply fade away. It has mobilized energies that cannot be tamed with time, and raised such hopes and expectations that even the most hard-boiled cynics in power won’t be able to disregard.
Next, most of those who have mobilized those energies, that is to say the thousands of young men and women who risked all to openly challenge one of the most brutal regimes in contemporary history, while knowing what they want, don’t know how to translate their desiderata into the cold political reality of securing and using power.
A poignant video of the 450+ protestors killed thus far in Iran. It’s not a coincidence that many of them are remembered singing and dancing; they died protesting a regime that has criminalized both activities. pic.twitter.com/mReLyPQmlD
— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) December 7, 2022
