Death To The Dictator!

"When it comes to regime survival, Khamenei calls the shots."
"And he's got a lot of loyal and ruthless troops at his disposal."
Cliff Kupchan, chairman, Eurasia Group

"[The] protesters have either become more radicalized in their demands and/or simply don't belong to the generation that experienced the events of 2009 [Green Party protests] as adults."
"There is a wide and perhaps growing disconnect with political elites."
Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor, Iran coverage on Al-Monitor

"Counter-revolution groups and foreign media are continuing their organized efforts to misuse the people's economic and livelihood problems and their legitimate demands to provide an opportunity for unlawful gatherings and possibly chaos."
Iranian state TV

Still from protest video   NBCNews

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a problem; its Iranian Revolution that transformed the political landscape throughout the Middle East in its irresistibility in the fevered imagination of religious fanatics appears to have finally encountered mass disfavour in the Republic itself, with a widely pronounced disillusion being expressed by a disparate group of Iranians from both disadvantaged and advantaged demographics, along with those having no political agenda whatever.

The massive wealth that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with his elite coterie and his family may not quite be common knowledge, but it is a fact of their lives known by some in Iran, though to even hint at knowing this and going so far as to promulgate that knowledge to a wider internal audience would without doubt represent more than sufficient 'evidence' for arrest on grounds of sedition.

Iranians, suffering as a result of the sanctions placed on their country's regime by the international community and condemnation emanating by United Nations' accusations relating to the regime's spuriously innocent search for nuclear technology through uranium enrichment and its preoccupation with perfecting long-range ballistic missiles, felt they were unfairly targeted and would soon see economic relief come their way with the signing of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

With the agreement came the release of billions of dollars and the legalization of Iran selling its oil on the international markets with deals signed for tens of billions of dollars for advanced warplanes, and the regime's financial support of foreign terror groups sucking up that vast reserve of finances newly enriching Iran, the needs of its own population left by the wayside. The high unemployment rate coupled with a soaring inflation rate and the unsustainable cost of food staples has inspired people to rebel.

At least that's how the protests began. Not as political protests; the political opposition that organized the 2009 rallies contesting the re-election to the presidential post of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has had no part in the organization of these protests that are beginning to resemble a popular uprising. From all walks of life throughout the country in every direction, people are streaming to join the protests in towns and cities, even in areas that are relatively well-off.

But it has also now turned political, with protesters shouting and chanting their disillusionment with the Islamic Revolution, airing their grievances and declaring their positions opposing the Ayatollahs and government under President Hassan Rouhani. That their country has gifted cash, weapons and fighters for their proxy terrorist militias doesn't sit well with most Iranians. They don't particularly have much love for Syria, Lebanon and Gaza: "Leave Syria, think about us!" some demand.

All social covenant taboos have been broken at this point, despite opposing a regime that will exact a heavy toll from those daring to question the imperial authority of the ayatollahs. Media sites have been blocked in hopes of impeding protest organization. The response by the police has been harsh, but not yet harsh enough to stall the protests or dissuade the courageous among them to cease and desist. People are being killed during overnight protests, and injuries are being amassed, along with those arrested.

Demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere in the country are being videoed and posted on social media, and played across the globe. People chanting "Death to the dictator!", pose an especial drama, by Iranians defiant enough in their opposition to the regime to dare to sling that deadly insult at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; a curse normally restricted to addressing the 'enemies' of the Islamic Republic, the Great and the Little Satans, the United States and Israel.

Audacious young women are showing up in the forefront of some of these protests, taunting and encouraging their young male counterparts to become involved, be responsible, do something for the future of their country, join the protests and become an activist whose interests are with the future of the nation. "I demand all prosecutors across the country to get involved. (Their) approach should be strong", said Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Iran's chief justice.

A woman takes part in a protest inside Tehran University. Iran is experiencing its largest anti-government protests since the disputed presidential election in 2009.  AP