Iranian Election and Government Structure

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

There has always been a stong undercurrent of resistance to the theocracy in Iran but I think the main reason it is reaching a critical mass now is that the younger folks there feel empowered enough to act. Remember, that an entire Iranian generation was wiped out in the Iran-Iraq war. That allowed the mullahs to maintain power through a difficult time and for a longer period than might otherwise have been sustainable. Now, the demographics have swung against them. I suspect, however, that we will not see a full-scale counter-revolution. Instead the clerics will make enough concessions to maintain power without completely losing their grip. These protesters are not hard core deomocrats or secularists. They're just pissed that the election was a ripoff. The mullahs will survive, though what emerges will almost certainly better for us than the intransigent regime of recent years.

Your completely right.

What's interesting is that this whole protest is actually putting a ton of pressure on the Ayatollah. He's is pretty much the guy in charge, and the people are showing the complete disdain for that system (Ie HIM). The fact that he's deferred to the guardian council was a move that has basically bought him more time.

Now, these protest could lead the ayatollah to simply oust Ahmadinejad, to appease the people. It's at least created a mini-storm of possibility, and what's incredibly fascinating is that this could possibly be the start of a new Iranian revolution.

What happens with that is anyone's guess.