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What is the biggest sign that Irans current regime is on the ropes?

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What is the biggest sign that Irans current regime is on the ropes?

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The military regime in Tehran is in its final days. The signs of an imminent collapse, perfectly traceable on the Iranian streets, are evading the most prominent Washington experts. The slogans on the walls, the nighttime chorus of Allah-o-akbar on the rooftops, the crowds chanting “death to the dictator,” all signaling a collective defiance despite the brutal backlash, and all reflecting a mass mobilization unseen since the 1979 revolution. The recurring cycles of peaceful protests and state violence is part of a larger transformation sweeping through Iran. But in Washington, this magnificent collective action spurs only arrogant dismissal on the part of the Iran policy industry. Democratic revolutions have always been about idealism, selflessness and a passion for solidarity and freedom–all concepts entirely foreign to the pragmatic, conceitful, double-talking policy insiders. It was not surprising that hours after millions of Iranians poured into the streets, mourning the loss of t

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For the past several years, critics of this blog have discounted my suggestions that the Achilles heel of Iran’s current fundamentalist Islamic regime is its poor economy. Yet the recent events of the past few weeks with oil hovering at around $40 a barrel (and Iran’s lower-quality crude selling even cheaper) have proven that the Iranian government can potentially be brought down through peaceful economic means. This past Thursday the Bush administration ratcheted up the financial pressure on Iran by revoking an exemption that gave Iranian banks access to the U.S. financial system, but it stopped short of blacklisting the Islamic Republic’s central bank. The move against Iran’s banks puts additional financial pressure on Iran’s economy that is already hurting because of oil prices that have dropped by $100 a barrel since this past July—a move that has substantially reduced the regime’s revenue lifeline. Iran’s dependence on oil money is staggering. Oil funds 60 percent of the governmen

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