Janatan Sayeh

There certainly is.

So we have to go a few years back to see how we really got to this point of this level of resentment against the Islamic Republic.

So the first really anti-regime movement was in 2009.

That's when I was active on the ground when I used to live in Tehran.

But the key point back then was there was still hope of reform within the system, trying to somehow play the political game within the Islamic Republic, try to back a candidate that would be, quote unquote, maybe more receptive to social or political reform.

But those hopes died when, in 2009, security forces opened fire on protesters, killing many.

And just thinking about how President Obama addressed the situation, he thought American intervention would actually deter protests.

Looking at where we are right now, of course, the economy is crumbling.

Iran has the highest executions per capita.

You're also talking about environmental collapse, water scarcity.

So every angle of really society, economy, and politics you look at, Iranians see no way out but through.

But it was really critical when the president called on protesters to expand, I remember talking to folks on the ground and them specifically telling me they are protesting because Trump said help is on the way.

So of course they're very receptive to foreign help.

That is something they've pleaded for for years now.

And one key thing that I want to just end this specific comment on when it comes to foreign intervention, this is something that the Islamic Republic was first to deploy.

They were the ones that brought in non-Iranian proxies, terror groups from Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan to open fire on Iranian civilians.

So because of how the regime has treated its own people, of course, in response, the masses are, of course, calling for another form of foreign intervention in the form of humanitarian aid that would aid this movement.

Well, both in an interesting way.

So we have to remember when the protests were really taking place about a month ago, these were the largest anti-regime demonstrations ever.

And comparing the 2026 compared to 2022, 2021, 2019 and 2009, all these different protest waves, it never necessarily had a leader.