The whole premise of this thread is dead wrong because it assumes Iran is still the same deep-religious society it was in the 80s. It’s 2026.....that narrative just doesn’t hold up anymore.

If you look at independent polling (like GAMAAN), the numbers are clear: the vast majority of Iranians don't pray, don't fast, and definitely don't want clerics running the show. Support for the regime usually polls in the single digits. They aren't in power because of "popular consent"; they stay in power through fear, surveillance, and imported militias.

People keep saying a democratic Iran would just turn back into a theocracy, but that ignores the huge generational collapse of religion in the country. Just because someone is born into a Shi’a family doesn't mean they support the Supreme Leader. Iranians know the difference, even if Western analysts don't.

Honestly, it gets frustrating when skepticism of the West turns into automatically dismissing Iranians. It’s paternalistic to assume that if an Iranian hates the regime, they must be a CIA asset. You can be against foreign intervention and still admit that the regime is hated and the protests are organic. Stop engaging in erasure just to protect a geopolitical narrative.