Burning debris lies in the middle of a street during unrest in Hamedan, Iran on January 1, 2026.
The Islamic Republic of Iran today is less a “revolutionary” state than a hollow shell.
The ruling class remains entrenched but increasingly disconnected from society, and is uncertain of its own future.
The question is no longer whether the system is under strain, but whether it retains the internal coherence necessary to survive.
Western governments, eager to avoid chaos and Soviet influence, regarded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as a stabilising alternative.
The very social groups that helped bring the clerical regime to power have become its most implacable opponents.
As history closes its circle, Iran confronts the truth embedded in its own revolution: in its beginning was its end. »