Protests in Iran

[SATW]

Whenever there is any kind of mass protest in Iran (especially the "Green" movement protests from 2009-2011), I wonder if the end is near for the current regime in power. The Iranian people never asked for a theocratic regime after the overthrow of the Shah...it just so happened that the followers of Khomenei were the most visible and organized compared to the pro-democracy advocates and communists. I am of the opinion that the people will eventually rise up and overthrow their current government, it's only a matter of time. But, it is hard to say when protests like these end up creating a domino effect that takes down the entire government (like 1979).

Hopefully sooner rather than later. If a liberal, pro-democracy regime takes over, then we can start talking about restoring good relations with Iran.

It's amazing to think that Iran and Israel had fairly good relations until 1979 considering how poor relations are right now. If I am not mistaken, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel (after Turkey). I took a Persian history class in college and I remember a discussion on how Israel and Iran were actually natural allies at one point because of their mutual distrust of Arabs...

Well, Iran was certainly not a pro-democracy regime before 1979. They had even fewer freedoms then.

I agree 100%. The Shah of Iran was one of the most infamous and brutal dictators of the 20th Century. Some of the more notable crimes committed by the Shah include his killing of 160,000 innocent Iranians between 1963 and 1978, ordering agencies such as SAVAK to bayonet any woman caught wearing the Hijab or other religious attire, suppressing freedom of speech, torturing thousands of political prisoners using the most heinous methods imaginable, and forming alliances with enemy nations such as the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. As such, the Shahs overthrow was logical, justified, and came 100% from the Iranian people without any outside intervention.

There are no countries that are objectively enemies of another country. If you form an alliance with a country its no longer your enemy. It may in some cases be an untrustworthy ally, but its not an enemy.

The US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have always been against the interests of Iran and have sought to subjugate the Iranian people for decades, so I consider them to be the true enemies of Iran.

Utter nonsense. The true enemy of any country are people within their borders who don't respect them. The Shah was preferable to this Islamic cesspool, but was hardly angelic himself.

Iran has proven that it can be secular and democratic via its people and it needs to be returned to the international community. One of the world's oldest and well-respected communities does not need people like you shilling for the Islamic regime.