Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly stated that he will never follow the path of the late shah of Iran and leave the country peacefully.  Instead, he has insinuated that he would stay and massacre the enemies of Islam: the Iranian people.

According to a 1989 leaked video, Khamenei was selected to a one-year caretaker period as supreme leader. The 20-minute footage, posted on social media by exiled Iranian journalist Shahed Alavi, reveals that Khamenei said he was not qualified enough for the post.

The illegitimate mullahs presently ruling Iran have been blatantly violating the sacred covenant of human rights by attacking large numbers of peaceful demonstrators demanding nothing more than their God-given right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The mullahs and their mercenaries are wasting precious human life to maintain themselves in power while terrorizing the Iranian population and giving away the wealth of the nation to numerous terrorist organizations.  According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran's regime spends $16 billion annually to support terrorists and rogue regimes.

It goes without saying that our hearts bleed to watch how brutally the government agents attack, assault, and beat up peaceful demonstrators.  Regretfully, the ruling regime sees these actions as part of their sacred duty.  They see any defiance directed at the supreme leader as defiance to Allah.  After all, Ayatollah Khamenei sees himself as the representative of the Hidden Imam, al-Mahdi, hence the custodian over the people.

Iran's rulers have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, chaos, and terrorism.  

Mullahs Are Panicking

Now the mullahs are in a state of panic.  They know that the current protests across Iran are very different from the 2009 Green Movement.  The current protests show the working-class and lower-middle-class Iranians in small towns and medium-sized cities within Iran calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and chanting in support of the monarchy and the exiled Prince Pahlavi.  For many demonstrators, the wretched state of the Iranian economy and corruption provided the perfect vehicle for pent up expressions of Persian nationalism.

For centuries, Iran has been a driver of change: "Where Iran goes, so goes the region."  The 1979 Iranian revolution ushered in a period of intense sectarian conflict and unrest in the area.  But most Iranians are tired of Khomeini-style Islam.  Younger Iranians are embracing and reasserting their Persian national identity, almost in reaction to the regime, and in ways that I think will impact the region for decades to come.  Now we can confidently assert that the post-1979 chapter in regional history has ended, and a new chapter has begun.  If present trends continue, I see Iran heading for a major change toward a Western way of life.

The current protests by millions throughout Iran is a clear signal that the Islamic theocracy is in irreversible decline.  The overwhelming majority of the people are no longer willing to settle for a vote recount or reformists' deception and a less repressive Islamic rule.  They are determined to establish a fully secular democracy with complete separation of mosque and state.  They demand regime change.

Moreover, deep cracks are popping up in the system and among the contending factions.  Realistically speaking, there is perhaps 10-15 percent of the population that still supports the clerical system to various degrees.  Many in this group are government employees, mullahs, and hired elements such as Basiji.  Also, the regime has some backers from its proxies' elements from several countries in the region such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria.

The best strategy that stands the greatest chance of success and entails the least risk of starting a cataclysmic chain reaction is for a "coalition of the willing," to borrow a phrase, to rally behind Prince Reza Pahlavi and the Iranian people.  It is the democracy-seeking secular Iranians who are thoroughly capable of dislodging the tyrannical mullahs.

Unlike with Obama, the call of the opposition has been resoundingly answered by President Trump, some of his Cabinet members, and U.S. lawmakers.  The recent protests are just the beginning of the end for the Iranian rulers.  It may take several months, but the main concern now is how to ensure a smooth transition from Islamic radicalism to a secular democracy.

In short, the Iranian people are happy to grant the mullahs' death wish.  They object, however, to their design of taking us along together with some sons and daughters of the "Great Satan."  After all, the heavens they fantasize are exclusive to the rabid believers of Muhammad, and that – fortunately – excludes us all.