There’s lots of disinformation being pushed out about the protests in Iran, and while the crisis is probably as great as it was in 1979, there is not yet any done deal. The fact that a former prince — no, not that one — in exile in the US is being pushed as the next leader in Tehran illustrates the complexities and uncertainties of the situation.

Reza Pahlavi, 65, is said to be backed by the US and Israel to take over in Tehran. The “current unrest” is reported by Aljazeera as the “Plan B” of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu “following the conclusion of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in May last year.” Indeed, Israel has been backing Pahlavi’s return to Iran for some time, as reported by Haaretz last October.

Like it or not, though, there are still many millions of working-class people who support the government in Iran. More than 13 million voters backed the ultra-conservative candidate Saeed Jalili in the last election. He is a prominent, hard-line Iranian politician, academic and former chief nuclear negotiator known for his deep loyalty to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, serving as his representative on the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and running for president multiple times, most recently in 2024. Such support cannot........

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