On November 9, 1978, the U.S. ambassador to Tehran, William Sullivan, sent shock waves through the foreign policy establishment with a diplomatic cable to the White House titled, “Thinking the unthinkable. Iran without the Shah.” The Iranian monarchy had been a U.S. ally for decades but in less than three months, the Shah and the monarchy were history.
Pundits were surprised by that change, and they were surprised again when Iran erupted at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. As the principal opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) played an important role in organizing the protests and breaking the mullahs’ censorship with news about them. Among this news were reports that protests had emerged in more than 140 localities.
In an era of social media, it was the protesters who sent the “cables”. The message was plain and simple. With chants like “down with Rouhani,” “down with Khamenei” and ‘no to reformers, no to hardliners; this game is over,” the Iranian people clearly communicated that they want regime change and they want it now.
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