For more than four decades, the Islamic Republic has confronted a persistent challenge that it has never been able to eliminate: an organized resistance committed to ending clerical rule and establishing a democratic alternative in Iran.

This distinction is increasingly important as Iran experiences repeated waves of popular unrest. The protests of 2009, 2017-18, 2019, 2022, and particularly 2026, demonstrated the depth of public anger toward the regime. But they also raised a critical question for anyone assessing Iran’s future: What happens when spontaneous public anger encounters a government prepared to use overwhelming force?