Each time such protests erupted, analysts across the world predicted the imminent collapse of the Iranian regime. Understanding why the Iranian regime survives requires examining a few core pillars that sustain it. Power is heavily centralised in the office of the Supreme Leader, making regime change through popular pressure extraordinarily difficult. As a result, even when elections occur, they do not threaten the regime’s core structure which is standing firm around the supreme leader. This doctrine fuses religion and politics so tightly that opposing the Supreme Leader can be framed as opposing Islam itself.

Source: dna January 14, 2026 09:20 UTC