Revolutions require zeal, energy and fervor - all of which need to be maintained. For the past 30 years, Iran's Islamic regime has struggled to keep its revolution alive. The latest round of the nuclear deal is no different. It is already presented as another revolutionary victory, and it might strengthen the hold of the fragile government in Teheran that is desperately seeking legitimacy since its controversial elections in June.
But legitimacy, we should note, is no longer in the hands of the International Atomic Energy Agency or the international community; it is in the hands of the Iranian people.
Take last week for example. November 4 was the official day of commemorating the seizure of the American Embassy in Teheran 30 years ago. It was intended to be a day of anti-American protests. But this year hundreds of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets to protest something else. Despite the Islamic regime's repeated warnings that any deviation from the official demonstration line would be met severely by the security forces, Iranians came out in defiance and again, just as they had for the past five months, shouted "Death to the dictator."
And just as in the past five months, video clips of these demonstrations circulated on the Internet. In one, young Iranians cheer and jump into the air as one of them tears down a huge banner of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the clip, they throw the picture on the ground and walk on it. As Judith Miller wrote in her opinion piece on Fox Forum: "The Iranian government is now loathed by most of its people."
The demonstrations on November 4 were no surprise, especially after the last round just weeks ago on al-Quds Day.
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