Iran has been a problem for the entire planet since 1979, when the mullahs took control.
I have an old friend who was there, in Tehran, when it happened. I won't give his name or explain why he was there. He was out in the city when the balloon went up, decided he should make his way back to the embassy, only to find the embassy had already fallen. He told me, years later, that he found himself in the middle of an angry crowd who were shaking their fists and shouting "Death to America."
I once asked him what he did at that point. He spoke the language fluently; he knew perfectly well what was going on. "What the hell do you think I did?" he replied. "I started shaking my fist and yelling, 'Death to America!'" He got out of the country and home to the USA, but that was a long, involved process following a couple of different ratlines that I won't bother describing here.
That revolution led to Iran installing a vicious theocracy, which became by far the world's foremost state sponsor of Islamic terrorism. That was then, this is now, and there may well be another revolution brewing in Iran, one that may reverse almost half a century of wasted time.
An opinion article in the Jerusalem Post by Gila Gamliel, who is the Innovation, Science, and Technology Minister and a member of the Security Cabinet of the Israeli government, presents some interesting insights into what's going on in Iran.
The Iranian people have once again taken to the streets. Over recent days, protests have erupted across the country, driven by deep frustration with the Islamic regime’s economic mismanagement, energy shortages, inflation exceeding 40 percent, and a system of laws enforced through intimidation and brutality. Protesters chant “Death to the dictator” not as a slogan of anger alone, but as a rejection of dictatorship itself.
They are demanding something simple and universal: dignity. Job security, freedom of expression, gender equality, and the ability to live without fear. The Iranian people deserve a far better future than the one imposed on them by a regime that has systematically failed to govern and chosen repression over reform.
Right here at RedState, we've been covering Iran's problems and how Israel and the USA have been putting pressure on Tehran for the last few weeks.
Read More: Protests Erupt Across Iran As Angry People Flood Streets
The mullahs face a big, dripping double-handful of problems at the moment. A nation, a people, cannot be ruled by fear and intimidation forever. Sooner or later, people stop being intimidated; sooner or later, they decide they have nothing left to lose. And those people are now angry, and the theocracy is the focus of their anger. Iran's economy is crashing and burning, partly due to Western sanctions, but also in large part due to the incompetence of the mullahs, and their insistence on funneling cash to Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror groups instead of dealing with Iran's infrastructure failures.
Because of this, Tehran, the capital, is dying of thirst. Iran may well be on the edge of collapse, and Israel and the United States seem poised to loft the mullahs over the verge.
Read More: Trump's Crackdown: Another 55 Iranians Now Headed Home From US
So, what happens next?
Some in Iran are calling for a return of the monarchy, in the form of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late, deposed Shah Reza Pahlavi.
The Islamic Republic has come to its end and is collapsing. What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright, and together we will turn the page of history. Now is the time to stand up; the time to reclaim Iran. May I be with you soon. pic.twitter.com/qrbnDmf8SX
— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) June 17, 2025
A return to a hereditary monarchy wouldn't be ideal. But politics, both nationally and internationally, is the art of the possible, and sometimes good enough is, well, good enough. A return of a Pahlavi to Iran may give the Iranian people a standard to rally around, and it's reasonable to think that the largely Westernized Pahlavi could be instrumental in setting up something along the lines of a parliamentary democracy, like Britain's, with himself as head of state but otherwise largely in a semi-ceremonial role.
That wouldn't be a bad outcome. Of course, the ideal outcome would be for Iran to look at the United States Constitution, say, "Hey, that's a pretty good model," and have the Constitution translated into Farsi, but that's probably not going to happen.
Iran could be a modern, healthy, prosperous nation. Iran should be all of those things. And, with a younger generation that's sick of the mullahs, a generation who have been educated in more modern nations, champing at the bit to drag their country into the 21st century - even the 20th would be a big jump forward for most Iranians - this may be the time it actually happens. Of course, the mullahs may manage, yet again, to hang on. They have, to date, shown the tenacity of a tick in a dog's ear.
The new year may bring us some interesting events in Iran. The world's foremost state sponsor of Islamic terror may well be overthrown by its own people, which I've been saying for years is the ideal outcome. This would be a boon for Iran, it would be a boon for the civilized world, and it would be a world-changing event. If it does happen, President Trump should be Johnny-on-the-spot to lift sanctions and offer good trade deals to the new, modern Iran - if that's what comes out of all this.
Those protestors, those rebels, still have a big, big hill to climb. As we move into 2026, watch what happens next.
