The previous revolt happened for a reason.
It also happened over three decades ago.
I’m not saying airing the Pavlavis is a great idea. But I wouldn’t assume it’s negative without evidence.
The Pahlavis still have a negative perception in Iran. Just because they aren’t the Ayatollahs doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to bring them up.
About 30% would take the shaw has a first or second choice. This is higher than support for the current regime but the country is deeply divided on what an alternative future would look like.
https://gamaan.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Iranians-Polit...
You’re saying the Iranians are hunky dory with Khamenei?
Like yes, the protests align with Israeli geopolitical goals. (Also American and Saudi ones. Probably, too, to some degree, every oil exporter.) That doesn’t mean they’re the root or even dominant cause of the current events, even if their bombings are a proximate cause.
Speaking more broadly, this American obsession with Israel when it comes to the Middle East is belittling to the region’s people. (And recognized as such more broadly, e.g. across Asia.) It’s also destructive to the causes those activists purport to represent—aligning with the IRGC is not helpful to Palestinian independence. (If I have to choose between an independent Palestine and free Iran, I’ll choose the larger population. Granted, Gaza isn’t my pet war. But recognize that turning everything into a single dimension also means rejecting support along tangential, albeit non-parallel, paths.)
Or, like Mao said, "the Army is the chief component of state power and whoever seeks to acquire and retain state power must have a strong army."
Now, you may point to other "popular revolutions" throughout modern history, but that only proves my point. After Khomeini went into exile in France, tens of thousands of his loyalists continued building their networks in Iran's universities, bazaars, mosques, offices, government agencies, etc. The revolution of 1979 was simply that underground network rising to topple the modernist Persian state once they'd reached critical mass.
Even during the Arab Spring, nothing really changed. For instance, in Egypt, the Army ousted Mubarak to simply install their own man who commanded a real army with guns (Sisi). When the protesters didn't get the memo, they were fired upon and thousands killed.
Across the Artesh (Army), IRGC, Basij militias, and other Shia paramilitary groups, Khamenei has over a million armed, trained young men who believe his words are God's words, and whose fortunes are tied to the regime's survival. No amount of airstrikes can meaningfully degrade those numbers to the point where Reza Pahlavi can be allowed to touch solid ground and be installed as king.
Reza Pahlavi has millions of bots on Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, etc. who astroturf him as a contender for state power.
It's not even a contest.