Iran’s embattled regime is facing growing domestic dissent along with threats from US President Donald Trump, though analysts said he is unlikely to deploy his Venezuela playbook against Tehran.
Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds as widespread demonstrations stemming from economic angst have also included anti-regime slogans. Trump threatened to intervene if authorities kill protesters, but Tehran has more resilient defenses than Venezuela, and a US invasion aimed at regime change risks fragmenting the protest movement, an Iraqi journalist wrote in Al Jazeera. Washington is more likely to pursue targeted strikes, Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer told Semafor.
“Change… is ultimately in the hands of the people of Iran themselves,” the son of the last Shah told The Wall Street Journal.