00:00So, something pretty dramatic just happened in Iran.
00:27On December 31st, protesters in the city of Asadabad reportedly stormed the Siege Base — that's
00:34a local headquarters for a paramilitary group tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard — and
00:40set it on fire.
00:43And that matters a lot.
00:46Because the besiege isn't just any group.
00:48They're the people the government sends in when protests break out, they enforce social
00:53rules, they crack down, they intimidate.
00:56So, when you see flames pouring out of one of their bases, while crowds chant things
01:03like, Death to Khomeini, and Damn Khomeini, that's not just a protest — that's open defiance
01:11of the entire system.
01:12And it's happening during the fourth straight day of unrest across the country.
01:18So, what kicked this off?
01:21Short answer, the economy is collapsing.
01:24Iran's currency has tanked.
01:27Prices for basic food and fuel are way up.
01:31Inflation?
01:32Somewhere above 40%.
01:35So, what starts happening?
01:37Truck drivers stop working.
01:39Bizarre merchants shut their shops.
01:41Oil and transport workers go on strike.
01:44Students join in.
01:46And pretty quickly, this stops being just about prices and starts sounding like this.
01:53Death to the dictator.
01:54We don't want the Islamic Republic.
01:57These are system-level demands.
02:00And they echo what we heard back in 2022 after the death of Masa Amini — calls for women's
02:06rights, for freedom, for dignity.
02:08A lot of analysts now say this could be the biggest wave of protests since then.
02:14Maybe even a new phase of anti-regime unrest.
02:18Meanwhile, outside Iran, you have Reza Paklavi, the son of Iran's last shah, living in the
02:26U.S., trying to position himself as a voice of the movement.
02:30He's been calling for strikes, for defections from security forces, and for maximum international
02:37pressure on the regime.
02:39He talks about a secular, democratic future.
02:42Some Iranians, especially in the diaspora, see him as a potential leader.
02:47Others think he's capitalizing on the chaos and doesn't really have grassroots support
02:52inside the country.
02:54But he is shaping the narrative internationally.
02:57And then there's Israel.
03:00Iranian officials and critics keep pointing to Israeli involvement.
03:05There have been arrests of people accused of working with Mossad.
03:09And even a rare Farsi-language post from Mossad appearing to back protesters.
03:15But here's the key thing.
03:17There's no clear evidence linking protesters to Israeli operations.
03:22Still, those claims give the regime a very useful talking point.
03:27This isn't about Iranians.
03:30This is foreign sabotage.
03:32So how is the regime responding?
03:35In a way that feels very familiar.
03:38The besiege and IRGC are being deployed.
03:42There are arrests, internet restrictions, warnings of a decisive response.
03:47Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is framing all of this as a propaganda war led by foreign enemies.
03:55Blaming sanctions, avoiding meaningful reform.
03:59Kind of just waiting it out.
04:02But here's the problem with waiting it out.
04:04The economy is still collapsing.
04:07Public trust is gone.
04:09Even some people who once supported the system are losing patience.
04:13And with Khamenei reportedly in fragile health, the stakes feel even higher.
04:19So when a besiege base burns, it's not just a building on fire.
04:24It's a symbol.
04:26A signal that fear is eroding.
04:28That anger is boiling over.
04:30And that Iran may be entering a phase where protests are no longer just expressions of frustration,
04:37but direct challenges to the power structure itself.
04:42And history shows, when that happens in Iran, the consequences can turn deadly very fast.
05:12to each other.
05:13January 39, 2008.
05:14Jewelry Libbe.
05:15It evolves bursts out.
05:16To the previousicas can turnaley lands a little biggest school,
05:17to admit and advocate for the fight.
05:19You're now coming back from the first half of the entireLink arrest.
05:20Spence also moves from killing itself into aHEAPT City.
05:22We'll take an rash thereafter.
05:23To capture theimeeئipot.
05:24Crерь.
05:25It's back as a real treasure.
05:26Thanks for tuning in.
05:27Here's where we offer need to write itslett-pack Xi brings.
05:28To get right to the next tab which their�에ертв 1980s or goals Runner made from the world-at-landerned
05:30SAWPское tournament in Jerusalem is almost year-long where we send beneficial power.
05:33Millennium with disabilities on the church where we can adapt.
05:34improves our history between us who are easy.
Comments