Protests expose Iranian regime’s weakness The latest uprising in the Islamic Republic of Iran exposed an underlying sentiment that will not remain suppressed for long. According to the opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), at least 8,000 people were detained within the first two weeks; the regime admits to approximately half this number. Its judiciary was quick to threaten death sentences for “those most responsible.” There is little mystery about what sort of charges will be used to justify such killings; a wide range of political offenses can result in execution in the Islamic Republic, including membership in banned organizations and the crime of mohabareh, or “enmity against God.” In fact, the latter was codified in Iranian law largely for the purpose of establishing death as the default punishment for members of the leading opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). Tehran has made every effort to suppress and destroy MEK since the adv...