Jewish Week
What also makes the current protest different from that of 2009 is the fact the current protestors are “not talking about changing policy, they want to get rid of the whole system, which is so unprecedented,” according to Brenda Shaffer, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern European Studies.
“The power of this rebellion is that it is in the provinces, the small towns,” Shaffer said. “That presents a problem for the government — putting out fires in so many areas and having to use local security forces who are not so willing to shoot their neighbors. In 2009, the IRGC did not know the people in Tehran.”