Iranian revolution
A Revolution’s Broken Promise
Iran’s Islamic republic was built on a pledge to uplift the poor and uproot inequality. Instead, decades of sanctions, ideological priorities and the Revolutionary Guard’s economic dominance have produced mass impoverishment and recurring unrest.
Frenemies With Benefits
Iran and Israel maintained a covert relationship after the revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power, continuing to engage in trade worth millions of dollars per year, even as Iran publicly denied Israel’s right to exist. This shows that the Iranian regime is and has historically been a rational actor.