
A photo of Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by the “morality police” in Tehran, September 2022
Majid Asgaripour / Reuters
The current protests in Iran sound the death knell of the Islamic Republic. The killing in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested for wearing the hijab incorrectly, has unleashed a wave of angry and bloody demonstrations, boycotts, work stoppages, and wildcat strikes that have exhausted the country’s security forces and spread to more than 100 cities. The government has endured major protests before, notably in 2009, 2017, and 2019, but these demonstrations are different. They embody the anger that Iranian women and young Iranians feel toward a regime that seeks to stifle their dearest desires. And they promise
Source URL: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/beginning-end-islamic-republic-iranians-theocracy