WPBF 25 West Palm Beach – Protests are spreading across Iran as a collapsing economy and growing anger toward the ruling regime push the country into what local experts describe as a critical and dangerous phase.
Robert Rabil, a professor at Florida Atlantic University, said demonstrations that began over inflation and unemployment have evolved into a broader challenge to Iran’s leadership. He said protests are now reaching multiple provinces and are no longer focused solely on economic hardship.
According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 572 people have been killed nationwide, including nearly 500 protesters, as security forces continue crackdowns. Demonstrations in support of Iranians have also been held in cities around the world.
Rabil said what happens next depends on two major factors: how aggressively the regime responds and whether the United States chooses to intervene.
Rabil pointed to past U.S. actions in the region, including the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, as examples that could alter Iran’s internal dynamics.
“What the president has done recently, what he did with Maduro, and the assassination of Soleimani — all of that changes the regime’s behavior,” Rabil said.
Rabil said if Iran’s government were to collapse or dramatically change, cooperation with Western nations, including the United States, could resume, especially if Iranians pursue a democratic alternative.