Janatan Sayeh

Of course, it was really about regime change and really moving past the regime.

But Iranians didn't know what to replace it with.

So once the crown prince really took leadership, assumed leadership of this movement, that gave a lot of hope and that gave a lot of momentum, meaning people knew what they were protesting.

So of course we saw them put their lives at risk.

About 40,000 unarmed Iranians were killed, but we still see the momentum continue.

That tells us of course fear is there, of course they do not want to,

really risk their lives ideally.

But they're at a point that they think it is now or never, as the president noted, which is why we see them again come to the streets, actually cheering these strikes.

And even prior to the military attack, we saw different civic movements take place in the forms of whether it was funerals or student activists or strikes led by business people.

The movement continued because Iranians don't think they can return from what they started about a month ago.

Absolutely.

So his legitimacy really comes from the people.

And the monarchy as an institution, of course, goes back 2,500 years.

It is really intertwined with the Iranian identity.

If you talk to an average Iranian and ask them what they're most proud of, they would definitely point to their past

and of course bring up different ancient kings, again, in the forms of a monarchy, whether it was Cyrus the Great, Xerxes, and so on until the current crown prince.

But this specific dynasty was really critical in modernizing Iran.

So if you look at different infrastructures throughout the country, for example, railroad, hospitals, schools,

increasing the literacy rate, establishing a unified and a national army.

All that was conducted under the Pahlavi dynasty.