The protests, which started out with economic grievances, have now morphed into one of the biggest challenges the Islamic Republic has faced in its 47-year history.

Marching alongside a column of protesters through the city of Borujerd in western Iran, a middle-aged woman appeared unperturbed by the blood streaming down her chin. “I am not afraid,” she called out in a video clip posted by Iran International. “I have been dead for 47 years.”

The country’s streets explode at the time Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi appointed.

That certainly has been my experience in discussions with Iran experts and Western government officials. But it is clear that the West needs to engage in serious policy planning to provide support to the Iranian people if such a dramatic change occurs.

"Ahmed Chalabi had far more resources and backing than Reza Pahlavi—and still failed spectacularly in Iraq. Iranians deserve better than fantasies of pretenders in exile," writes Bobby Ghosh

Five conditions determine whether revolutions succeed. For the first time since 1979, Iran meets nearly all of them.

Demonstrations that began as outrage at the state of the economy have spread to cities across the country, amid an escalating crackdown by the authorities.

Protests in Iran have continued despite threats from the government to crack down. Online videos show demonstrators protesting Friday night, even after authorities shut down the internet and cut phone lines.

Fresh protests erupted across Iran as demonstrations entered a fourteenth day despite a nationwide internet blackout and deadly crackdowns. Rights groups warn of rising deaths, while protesters demand an end to clerical rule.

At least 65 people have been killed in the protests and over 2,300 others have been detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. However, Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian activist and journalist living in the United States, said “hundreds of protesters” have been killed.