Present day Iran is hardly a wisp of the Persian Empire. Rome, Greece, Egypt, Mongolia, Britain, Spain, Ottoman/Turkey, all the same, shells of their heydays and torn down by many factors of either socialism, religion, or government greed and oppression of its people. Persia was pre-Islam, and has been little more than an after thought in global impact since. As for what Iran was like under the Shah, well Afghanistan was the site of mini skirts and go-go boots not too long ago as well. Countries' freedoms retract rapidly when they become an Islamic based government, and those retractions are near permanent these days.
This latest batch of protests will get squashed, just like those in Venezuela, and there will be no change until those within the military join in which isn't happening. The Republican Guard there are ferocious and loyal to the Ayatollah to their death, they give zero fucks about killing their fellow citizens if they speak out against the government. There will be no regime change there without foreign invasion, and this latest batch of protests will rapidly be squashed in the tracks of Boraghs (BMPs).
The only shit I give about Iran is keeping the pressure on them. The people there had no problem supporting the killing of US military in Iraq, and continue to support expanding Iranian influence in the region and world, despite what a few college kids may put out on social media to the contrary.
Those cousin fuckers can suck a fat dick.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage_in_the_Middle_East#Iran_(Persia)
