Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khameini, laid down the gauntlet today to the protestors, as most expected he would. Yet hundreds of thousands of Iranians remain in the streets, undaunted. I spoke to a leading Iranian dissident today who told me that the largest protest yet may take place on Saturday, in open defiance of the Supreme Leader. As the incomparable Charles Krauthammer writes, this can only end in one of two ways:
This revolution will end either as a Tiananmen (a hot Tiananmen with massive and bloody repression or a cold Tiananmen with a finer mix of brutality and co-optation) or as a true revolution that brings down the Islamic Republic.
The latter is improbable but, for the first time in 30 years, not impossible. Imagine the repercussions. It would mark a decisive blow to Islamist radicalism, of which Iran today is not just standard-bearer and model, but financier and arms supplier. It would do to Islamism what the collapse of the Soviet Union did to communism — leave it forever spent and discredited.
Do yourself a favor and read Krauthammer's entire column. And keep the Iranian people in your prayers. By the way, where does Israel stand in all of this? Read this fascinating take by the Jerusalem Post's Caroline Glick.