The opposition has shown it is still alive; how strongly is less clear

I am glad that finally after years, the foreign media are coming closer to realize that in the Iranian Political system, the so-called President(such as Ahmadinejad) does not play any significant role and it is the supreme leader(Khamenei) who is the true and real autocrat!

Roger12345, you have probably not even been to Iran once ... Or you benefit from the Iranian regime directly or indirectly ... What you cant connect to is the sufferings of a proud nation under a regime which has no shame in using all the Russian torture techniques, including rape ... this is not a West vs East issue ... this is an internal, freedom and human rights issue ... Whoever you are and whever you come from, dont forget this: even if the Iranian regime gives you money, it is our oil money, which belongs to the Iranian people including those who have been killed ... So at least be grateful, and dont contribute to our sufferings by your ignorance ... I dont even hate people like you ... I just feel so sad for all the ignorance which has blinded your eyes ... Lots of lives have been lost for freedom of speech and you cant even offer a word of sympathy ... What planet do you come from?

Without doing things most people (including me) would find unacceptable, such as a military invasion of Iran, etc., this regime is safe for the foreseeable future. It is strong and the opposition is weak and divided. Sorry, but that's the way it is. This should make Roger12345 happy. No one else though.

Hey Roger! are you kidding me?

I assume you can read and you can write, you are not illiterate, are you?

As far as I know, supporters of Iran's regime are illiterate people, or if not so, the last text that they have read goes back to school time. It seems at least you know something about The Economist.

Oh, wait a minute, sometimes it is not just about illiteracy, just look at Hitler, Stalin, ... and their supporters ... aah Thank you Roger, I got it. Hitler was a nice guy, just US made a her reputation so bad ...

US has a 400 millions budget to destabilize Iran ,to change the regime there.Israel is the leading force which incited against the Iran "threat" and wants to see Iran destroy exactly how was Iraq namely on lies,lies and more lies.The Islam was remade a danger for judeo-christianism 300 years after Voltaire,Diderot,Goethe,Rousseau etc.The warmongering propagandists the same which lied about WMD in Iraq,are continuing a religious war imbecilizing people with shameless attack on Islam.The leaders are "spiritual leaders"like Ovadia Josef a racist rabbi that exposed recently his spirituality saying that "God made the goyim to serve Jews,and Jews would live like effendis.Like Ovadia are the rest of "spirituyal leaders"in Israel:Dov Lior,Igal Shapira and so on.The Christian fundamentalists in US who ,70 millions of fanatics imbecile,which gave to world G.W.Bush The Great Moron are ,also ,in the prime line of the "civilized world"against the primitive Islam.But they are not content with the venom of their propaganda they want war and make endless provocations:the assassination of Iran scientists,the infection with viruses of Iranian system of control in nuclear plant which may provoke a new Cernobyl,the support of a terrorist organization, MEK, which has some tens of victims assassinated in terrorist attacks.And what is the pretext?Iran could (only could) get a one nuclear bomb Iran is a participant to NTP,and not exist a single prove about her intention.But a demagogue like Netaniahu help by the whole propaganda machine serving Israel demented ambitions,draws whole the world in ,what so many smart people ,see like an unseen catastrophe.How to compare the riots in Egypt against a dictator who made Egypt a slave of US and Israel with so called riots in Iran done by the ones who want to put Iran in line with the rest of the countries managed by US-Israel stooges.Only Economist (economist on truth ,maybe) may do it.

For to feel the idiocy which the "free media" bombing our brains,read the explanation given by the "liberal" Israeli newspaper Haaretz on why US wll be the only one country which rejects a UN resolution on the permanent stealing of Palestinian land:"U.S. is the only Security Council member that opposes the resolution; though its wording does not conflict with Washington’s stance on settlements it fears that if the resolution passes it will be an obstacle to renewal of peace talks"

What do you mean by "... still alive"? The Green Movement is nothing but the new Iranian generation; close to 50 million Iranians under 35 years old. Do you think anyone can kill them; think twice!

The Iranian Government has refused to allow dissent. So far our President hasn't spoken the words he he spoke so clearly about Egypt. "Mr. Murbarak should leave now." "Mr Ahmadinejad should leave now" hasn't to my knowledge come from his lips.

Our President has a much larger problem. Oil will be a primary weapon if the Persian Empire and Shiite domination is extended to other Middle East countries. In Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabi Sunni leaders are outnumbered by the Shiite population. Iranian power is increasing very rapidly.

The President is a hero if he reverses his stance and issues an Executive Proclamation calling for immediate oil drilling for all of Alaska and the "Shelves" of the American Continent. Issue orders for nuclear to be cleared immediately for construction, and create immediate efficient distribution for Natural Gas.

The president will be unbeatable if he does this. If not his party will be in infamy for the foreseeable future if this Persian Empire gains dominance. We may only have a few years and Green Energy in any real commercial application is twenty years away.

Like its counterpart Saudi Arabia, Iran today is a joke. With the kind of resources Iran has, natural beauty, and strategic location, every Iranian should be a millionaire!!! The ruling elite in Iran should be shot, one by one. No more said.

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I sincerely hope that the Iranian people will soon be free, so that they can join the world community again, and become a REAL democracy with freedom of speech, freedom of worship, the rule of law and equal rights, regardless of race, sex or sexuality.
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Like Egypt's revolution, the source of Iran's unrest has all the hallmarks of a demographic crisis.

According to the CIA, half of Iran’s population of nearly 77 million is under the age of 26, GDP per capita is $11,200 per year, unemployment is nearly 15%, and 18% of the population lives below the poverty line.

One could say that Iran is almost Egypt’s Persian clone. 52.3% of Egypt’s 84.6 million-person population is under 25, unemployment is at nearly 10%, and 20% of the population lives below the poverty line. The only key difference is that Egypt’s GDP per capita at $5,900 is slightly more than half that of Iran.

While unrest is certainly a positive development for US interests, I fear that unless the Iranian government voluntarily makes concessions, the revolution will ultimately be unsuccessful for one simple reason: 68% of Iran's population lives in cities.

As any military officer will tell you, people are easier to defeat when they are concentrated. The United States was able to implement the surge in Iraq successfully in many ways because Iraq's population is 67% urbanized. Afghanistan, where 24% of the population lives in cities, is proving to be more of a challenge.

http://reflectionsofarationalrepublican.com/2011/02/14/iran-another-domi...

Ah yes, in the middle east protest section The Economist doesnt lead with the Friday demonstration in "Dear Hosni's" Egypt, not his successors failure to suspend military law. It doesn't lead with the murders in the US's 'perfect partner' Bahrain, no we are back to Iran...

Ehhh - don't you feel you should try a bit harder to be a bit more subtle?

Like commenting on how the veto in the UN by the US of condemnation of Israeli settlements has been receiven in the Middle East? How many friends it has made the US? How it has really improved US security?

There may be calls for change in Iran, but how many, do those who make the call, number? Iran is not seen as an urban society, but as a society, with many poor and disadvantaged people. If these people want a change,(the poor and disadvantaged), then only will change come to Iran. Perhaps, now, these people cannot imagine an alternative.
There is an interesting contrast, comparing Iran, with Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabians are affluent, but they are not asking for democracy, as the affluent Iranian's are doing. Perhaps, the latter, are fed up with the lack of facilities on offer in Iran, but they must remember, that they are a poor nation, on account of the number of poor Iranians. The protesters in Iran, are fighting for their perception, and not for their nation. If Iranians were united, then the change would come.

Although they certainly want change, most Iranians I know are not too keen on another revolution. The last one didn't turn out all too well - they still live with the consequences. They prefer evolution to revolution, and hope that next year's elections will turn out better than the last.

I am not sure how realistic that hope is; to me it doesn't seem likely that the elections will be free and fair this time. I don't know what the people will do if the elections turn out to be rigged again.

Of course, many vote with their feet. Many who have the option migrate to countries that are rich and free. I share the Iranians' hope for change, so they have no need to go. Iran is a beautiful country with very friendly and hospitable people, a high level of education and oil. It could be such a great place.

The opposition is alive but weeping in agony,it is in urgent need of other countries' attention;Iranian people are not only suffering from injustice & false decisions of their fake leader & president but also under torment of human right ruptures.

Do You have any proof that government don't have support of majority Iranian people? No, You don't. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_presidential_election,_2009#Polls_b... every poll from any Western organization show that majority support Iranian conservatives. Iranian conservatives gain huge support because of actions of the West.

Pardon me for saying this...

1) I think the "you reap what you sow" is particularly true in Iran (I remember, 30+ years ago, watching the Iranian revolution unfold with the Iranian populace kicking the Americans out & fervently embracing the Ayatollah Khomeini as their 'savior'). I fail to see why the US should get involved in trying to rescue the children of these people from the system their parents created. (If any Americans have second thoughts about this, play some old Iranian videos of our embassy staff held hostage or the US flag desecrated for decades after, by the same Iranians looking to be rescued by the US).

2) MORE IMPORTANTLY (and sadly for the Iranians), Iran today serves as a grim reminder (or abject warning) to the rest of the Middle East on how easily they can replace their current dictators with even worse ones (emanating from their mosques)

A good update. Some thoughts:

Saw the references to a post by Roger12345 several comments, but can't find it and assumed it got pulled (was it outright rude, or using bad language to make a point?)

Ken E Zen - Sunnis are the super-majority in Saudi Arabia, like over 80%, although the Shiites are concentrated in the important Eastern Province; don't think anyone on one of the coasts like myself is keen on offshore drilling but agree on the nuclear program

Folks that complain about coverage of other middle east issues, well this article is focused on Iran.

I would be interested in seeing a better approximation of support for the current administration in Iran versus support for the protestors or even democracy. Iran has had a hard stop and go, one step forward/two steps back kind of political experiences dating from the 1906 Constitutional Revolution. Unlike what some westerners assume, parliamentary, democratic and other political reforms/aspirations are not new; and the Iranians are not political novices here.

Unfortunately, their revolution got hijacked by more extreme elements of the religous establishment, with a leading opposition figure, Khomeini, pushing a doctrinal innovation that originally didn't have much currency in the political culture - vilayat e faqih (or rule by clerics).

Iranian opposition has shown it is still alive.
Yes, just barley alive, despite repeated shots of steriod injections from the western intelegences, political leaders and media like. Sadly the CIA and the MI6 cannot find another Shah amongst the opposition, like they did few decades ago, only to plunder Iranian oil for serveral decades. Perhaps the Economist should read the renouned Indian writer by the name of Dilip Hero to distinguish fact from western fiction, peddled relentlessly in print and on air to fool the innocent and unsuspecting masses.

Iran has clearly shown that revolution is still a prominent factor in the politics of the country. With the resonance of Mubarak’s fall, Iran has certainly taken an initiative to further their calls for a revolution. Their revolutions barely make it since they are quickly shut down by the government but maybe this should be the time where the Iranians need to be heard and understood. Perhaps this is the revolution that will make every democratic Iranian believe that there is hope in the government and regime of their nation. Although many other factors come into play such as oil and their relationship with the United States, if Iran does uphold a revolution I’m sure ties with the Western world would improve. Of course the chances of this happening are slim because of the tight control of the government and their strict rule on elections. If Ahmedinejad and Khameini actually became part of the movement then Iran’s call for revolution might become effective. However, this seems far from happening and on the contrary, those against democracy or a new regime are becoming even more tight knit.