Trump's Unexpected Opportunity

"Marching alongside a column of protesters through the city of Borujerd in western Iran, a middle-aged woman appeared unperturbed by the blood streaming down her chin. "I am not afraid," she called out in a video clip posted by Iran International. "I have been dead for 47 years." She spoke for many in the crowds of protesters now thronging Iran's streets."

"Periodic mass protests have marked Iranian life for nearly two decades-the Green Movement of 2009, the fuel protests of 2019, the Women, Life, Freedom uprising of 2022-23. Each wave was brutally repressed. But never before has the Islamic Republic been so weakened at home and so vulnerable to pressure from abroad. The possibility of overthrowing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime is no longer theoretical."

"Arash Azizi: Change may be coming to Iran For President Trump, these protests present a historic opportunity to cement his legacy as the Ronald Reagan of his era. Reagan did not collapse the Soviet Union through military force. He did it by applying overwhelming economic, ideological, and proxy pressure from the outside-while supporting dissidents on the inside. Trump can do the same with the Islamic Republic."

Widespread protests across all 31 provinces have drawn multigenerational crowds, signaling broad social rejection of nearly fifty years of theocratic rule. Recurrent mass uprisings — including 2009, 2019, and 2022–23 — faced brutal repression, yet the current movement coincides with unprecedented domestic weakness and external pressure. Robust sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and recent military actions have eroded the regime’s foundations and increased its vulnerability. The possibility of overthrowing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime is now conceivable, though the ayatollahs are likely to respond with lethal force against largely unarmed protesters. External support and sustained pressure could tip the balance, but the decline may not be irreversible.

Read at The Atlantic