Both the powerful Israel lobby and most of the conservative movement in the United States have endorsed the goal of forcible regime change in Tehran since the Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah in 1979. Policy concessions from Rodriguez’s government with respect to the treatment of the U.S. oil industry and a willingness to display less receptivity to China’s economic penetration of South America came quickly, and the White House appeared to be placated. Although the younger Pahlavi officially embraces the goal of democracy, and one should not assume that he and other leaders of the current generation of anti-clerical activists are authoritarians like their parents and grandparents, we should reserve judgment and not casually assume that they are dedicated democrats either.
Author: Ted Galen Carpenter
Published at: 2026-03-02 00:00:01
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