Iranian Unrest a Harbinger of Real Change? Let’s Hope So Widespread protests have engulfed Iran for at least two weeks.  Despite nearly 8,000 arrests, 50 deaths, thousands wounded, and deployment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), calls continue to go out for protests in dozens of cities. The 2017 uprising was different from the 2009 Green Movement in several respects. The latest demonstrations started out with smaller numbers but with a much broader geographic and social base. There are no declared leaders to arrest and no specific location to suppress. The ideological focus of the emerging movement was also far-reaching. Whereas the Green Movement focused primarily on disputed election results, the current protests emerged out of the economic anxieties of a population that has been essentially plundered by the self-serving clerical elite.  Large crowds of protestors have been heard chanting “death to the dictator,” calling not just for reform but ...