Iranian Progress Cannot Be Stopped
Translated by Sara Khalili
Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran resembles a half-lifeless body collapsed on the ground, yet still possessing powerful arms. With the support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other military forces, it has attacked the people of Iran and, through widespread killings, has delivered a brutal blow to the popular uprising. Yet this is only a temporary success. The republic is already dead morally, economically, and socially.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]In just a short span, the currency collapsed, and the dollar surged from 70,000 rials to more than 1,400,000 rials. The government has become one of the most disgraced regimes in the world, it has dragged the country into deep decline, and it is now incapable of feeding its own people. Even if we assume that the regime has narrowly escaped collapse at this moment, its political survival must be understood as temporary rather than enduring. It will fall at another. All that is required is for the backbone of the Revolutionary Guards to break—and this is not a fantasy, but a realistic possibility. Ultimately, the Guards themselves will turn toward the people.
Over the past several years, Iranians have repeatedly risen in the streets to oppose the regime, driven by a complete exhaustion of tolerance for the Islamic Republic. This government has been hated since its formation. The first demonstration against it took place within the very first month of its establishment, when women poured into the streets to protest compulsory hijab. At that time, men remained largely silent, believing the issue of forced hijab to be unimportant—unaware that “women’s hijab” would soon be placed on their heads as well. When men are unable to form political parties and are forced to live under an imposed Islamic order, they too are, in effect, veiled.
Soon after that initial protest, dissatisfaction spread and the country entered a long downward spiral. Liquor stores were shut down. Dancing was banned. At the same time, prisons filled beyond capacity, and the same groups that had once fallen victim to the Shah’s executions were now being executed again. Approximately ten thousand members of the Mujahedin and leftist political organizations were sent before firing squads. A significant portion of the population emigrated and scattered across the world. Nearly all of Iran’s top students left the country.
Public life grew uniformly austere: radio and television programming was reduced to religious content, political activity was prohibited, university professors were dismissed, and hostility toward the United States and Israel intensified. Cities took on the atmosphere of graveyards, and mourning black became the dominant color of daily life. The Islamic Republic rejected pre-Islamic Persian history, as if nothing of value had existed in Persia before Islam. Ancient history was removed from textbooks and effectively erased from public education.
Despite it all, Iranians remained progressive and creative. Writers and filmmakers produced works of great value. The populace continued to advance, remaining active in every field. This persistence troubled certain foreign powers that, at various moments, had supported the Islamic Republic in the hope of weakening Iran as a nation.
Yet Iranians continued to progress. Gradually, they began to reshape and reform the system from within. Political activity slowly reemerged. These efforts repeatedly culminated in mass protests demanding change and the end of the government. Compulsory hijab has all but disappeared since the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini and the globally echoed “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
The unrest of January 2026 marks the most significant moment in this long struggle. Intolerable economic conditions drove Iranians to the limits of their endurance. Bazaar merchants took to the streets, and the public stood behind them. A genuine uprising took shape—so significant that many now refer to it as a revolution.
As this article is being written, the movement continues. The Islamic Republic has shut down the internet and cut off telephone communications, paralyzing the country. The regime is resorting to massacres to suppress the unrest. Thousands have been killed. Thousands more have been imprisoned.
Still, the protesters have not capitulated. This uprising is momentous and will have profound consequences. It began in a way that ensures its continuation. At present, with all forms of communication severed between the people of Iran and the outside world, we remain uncertain of the precise developments unfolding inside the country. However, we have seen heartbreaking images of overflowing morgues, masses of young victims wrapped in black shrouds, families wandering among them in search of their loved ones.
I believe the fate of the Islamic Republic will soon be determined. It will either collapse or undergo fundamental reform and transformation. My prediction is that figures from within the Revolutionary Guards will seize power. Although the slogan most often heard is “Long live the monarchy,” I do not believe this will become reality. We must wait and see what unfolds.