There is no doubt that this tidal wave of dissent is the biggest and most sustained since the 1979 revolution.
There is mounting excitement in many Western nations – and in the leadership of those countries – about the ongoing and bloody mass protests sweeping across Iran.
This is the chance, many of those leaders believe, to oust the religious dictatorship which has ruled the oil-rich country since an Islamic revolution toppled the monarchy of the shah in 1979.
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US President Donald Trump, ever alert when oil is involved, has said the US may use its military muscle against the regime in Tehran and specifically against its security apparatus, which is said to have killed at least 100 protesters across the country in the past fortnight.
There is no doubt that this tidal wave of dissent is the biggest and most sustained since the 1979 revolution.
Protests shake Iran
And, clearly, the leaders in Tehran are worried: they have declared that anyone involved in protesting is guilty of a “crime against God”, for which the sentence is death.
The question on the lips of many is whether this uprising – for that is what it is – will see history repeating itself, albeit with a 1800 perspective.
Are the people in the streets persuasive enough to force the religious leaders and the military propping them up to surrender?
It doesn’t seem likely that those stern guardians of religion and morality will allow the country to lapse back into Western ways without bloodshed.
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On the other hand, conservatives in the West would be overjoyed if a country they associate with “radical Islam” were to reverse course.
What is different to 1979 is that there is no longer a religious ideology or religious figurehead uniting people.
Now, the movement is more amorphous and because of that, brings in more disparate groups in opposition to the regime.
We could well be witnessing another watershed moment in history as a people fight for their freedom.
