Part 6/8:
“The nostalgia for the Shah’s era and the idea of his son returning is a gift for the regime—it’s a false binary that keeps the regime secure.”
Many Iranians in exile harbor emotional attachments to the Pahlavi dynasty, yet the speaker warns that the regime exploits this nostalgia to stave off change by suggesting that without the current government, only the Shah's return would be the alternative. This creates a false dilemma that discourages attempts at democratic transition.
The Potential for Democratic Alternatives and Uprising
Despite the regime’s strengths in repression, the speaker underscores that options for change do exist. Iran’s internal landscape includes:
Democratic sectors seeking reform
The IRGC itself, which could be split on the issue