Anne Applebaum

But this is a really interesting question and one I've tried to pay attention to, to the degree to which it's possible, because Iran is pretty cut off.

They cut the internet.

I think some of it is back on now.

And it's very hard to reach people or get any clear idea.

Obviously, there's no polling.

There's no public opinion.

There's no national conversation.

I have some Iranian friends who are part of the opposition who've been in touch with people there.

And they reported initially really enormous enthusiasm and happiness and joy that the leaders were destroyed.

Actually, a friend of mine said to me, you know, I know what you think about this, but I just want you to know this is on the day Khamenei was killed.

I just want you to know this is the best day of my life.

You know, so people were initially very enthusiastic.

Obviously, there's been a change since then.

There's a lot of disappointment with the way the war is being conducted.

There's a lot of fear that the end of the war will give more legitimacy to the regime rather than less, that we've, in essence, given them a new...

Not nuclear weapon, but something like a nuclear weapon that they can use against the United States and against the Gulf stage, which is control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that will give them extra power.

There may be people inside Iran, and here I'm just guessing, I don't have any evidence or proof, who are rallying around the regime because they're being attacked by the United States.

And we certainly haven't seen the kinds of protests that we saw a few months ago in January.

There's a sense that the regime is still in charge.

Now it's not so much the religious leaders, it's the army and the military.