People block a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Friday.MAHSA/AFP/Getty Images

Dennis Horak was Canada’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Yemen from 2015 to 2018 and chargé d’affaires in Iran from 2009 to 2012.

The demonstrations currently rocking Iran are among the largest the Islamic Republic has ever faced. The spark was the rapid collapse of Iran’s currency amid skyrocketing inflation, but coupled with a crippling water crisis and decades of economic mismanagement and corruption, ordinary Iranians seem to have hit a breaking point.

The Islamic Republic has faced similar challenges in the past, most notably in 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom protests that swept the country, as well as after the disputed 2009 presidential elections that led to the emergence of the pro-democracy Green Movement. In each instance, millions took to the streets demanding change; in each instance, the regime was able to brutally reassert control.

As in 2022 and in 2009, supporters of today’s protesters confidently insist that this time is different........

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