Death to dictatorship’: A tale of two revolutions — How Iran is back where it started
‘Death to dictatorship’: A tale of two revolutions — How Iran is back where it started
On the streets of Iran today, the chant “Death to dictatorship” reverberates with a potency that once shook the world nearly five decades ago. It is the same cry that helped topple the Pahlavi monarchy in 1979, yet now it targets not a Western-aligned Shah, but the theocratic system his fall helped create. In this sense, Iran has become a nation haunted by its own history — caught in a cycle where revolution begets rule and rule invites rebellion. At this moment, Iran finds itself eerily close to where it began: a mass uprising driven by economic desperation, political repression, and a yearning for dignity and freedom that has gone unfulfilled for generations.
I. Echoes of 1979: Iran’s Revolutionary Roots
The Islamic Revolution of 1978–79 was one of the defining geopolitical events of the 20th century, ending the centuries-old Pahlavi monarchy and reshaping Iranian society. Economic grievances, political repression, and widespread desire for independence from foreign influence coalesced into a massive uprising that united disparate factions — secular modernizers, leftists, clerics, students, and bazaar merchants. The Shah’s departure on January 16, 1979, marked the collapse of a dynasty that had ruled Iran since 1925.
Yet the coalition that toppled the Shah did not result in the liberal or democratic Iran many had envisioned. Instead, it ushered in the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a theocratic system where ultimate authority resided in the hands of the Supreme Leader. Secular parties were sidelined, political dissent was crushed, and a new authoritarian order took root. Over time, the promises of social justice and freedom were overshadowed by rigid ideological governance and political repression.
More than four decades later, the protesters chanting “Death to dictatorship” are expressing not just immediate dissatisfaction, but a deep historical frustration — a frustration with a system that once promised liberation but delivered its own form of authoritarian control.
II. The Economic Spark, Political Fire: Protests of 2025–26
The latest wave of protests began in late December 2025 in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar — a place that holds symbolic resonance for Iran’s modern political history. Historically, bazaars were economic hubs and political incubators; in 1978 they were central to the anti-Shah movement. In 2025, records show that a steep decline in the rial, soaring inflation, and widespread hardship triggered strikes and demonstrations among shopkeepers and traders. What began as economic outrage quickly transformed into broad anti-government protests chanting “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to the Islamic Republic.”
By early 2026, these protests had spread to cities across the country, involving workers, students, and ordinary citizens from various walks of life. Slogans extended beyond prices and living costs to demand the end of clerical rule itself. Demonstrators waved the historic Lion and Sun flag — an emblem of Iran’s pre-1979 national identity — as a symbolic rejection of the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy.
The government responded with a severe crackdown: internet blackouts, arrests, and the use of live ammunition against demonstrators. Human rights groups report thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests, making these protests among the deadliest in Iran since the revolution. Many observers note chilling parallels between the current violence and darker chapters of Iran’s past political repression.
III. The Slogan That Carries History
The chant “Death to dictatorship” is not new in Iran’s contemporary political lexicon. Its variants — “Death to Khamenei,” “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to the Islamic Republic” — have surfaced in multiple protest waves over the past decades, notably during the 2009 Green Movement and the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising. The slogan encapsulates the deep resentment many Iranians feel toward a political system that they see as unresponsive to their aspirations and rights.
But the resonance of this slogan goes deeper. In the 1963 demonstrations against the Shah — decades before the 1979 revolution — Iranians also chanted “Death to the Dictator,” illustrating how this cry has perennially expressed alienation from centralized authoritarian rule.
Today’s youth, shaped by years of economic hardship and limited freedoms, see both the Pahlavi era and the Islamic Republic as forms of dictatorship. This generational shift — where both monarchist and clerical rule are rejected — marks a significant evolution in Iranian political consciousness.
IV. Two Revolutions, One Unfulfilled Promise
Iran’s story in the last century is, in many ways, a tale of two revolutions. The first — in 1979 — removed one dictatorship only to create another. The second — unfolding now — seeks to overturn that very system. This cyclical pattern reflects the structural challenges of achieving lasting political transformation without a clear, unified alternative.
In 1979, the revolution’s success was underpinned by a coalition of factions united against the Shah. Once power was seized, that unity dissolved, as clerical forces moved quickly to consolidate authority. The absence of a broad democratic framework allowed authoritarian elements to dominate Iran’s political development for decades.
Today’s protests show similar complexity. While chants and actions call for the end of dictatorship, there is no single unified leadership or clear roadmap for what comes next. Exiled opposition factions — including monarchists advocating for Reza Pahlavi and groups like the Mujahedin-e Khalq — remain divided, often at odds with each other and viewed skeptically by many inside Iran. This fragmentation complicates the prospects of post-protest transition.
Yet the underlying energy is different. The 2025–26 movement is rooted less in ideological dogma and more in broad social dissatisfaction: economic stagnation, political repression, and the desire for personal freedoms and dignity. In this way, the current uprising may be seen as a movement of aspiration rather than ideology.
V. Repression, Resistance, and Revolutionary Fatigue
The Iranian regime is no stranger to revolt. From the Green Movement of 2009 to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest of 2022 sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, waves of resistance have challenged the government. Each wave has been met with a similar script of repression: force, censorship, arrests, and slogans of national security.
What makes the current protests distinct is their scope and intensity. Analysts note that the killings, arrests, and nationwide scale of demonstrations reflect a crisis that goes beyond isolated grievances. The government’s labeling of protesters as “enemies of God” raises the specter of severe punishments and years of repression.
At the same time, revolutionary fatigue looms large. Many Iranians have lived their whole lives under sanctions, economic hardship, and political stagnation. For them, the question is no longer reform within the current system, but whether it is possible to envision a future that breaks decisively from authoritarian rule in any form.
VI. What Happens Next? Uncertain Paths Forward
Iran’s trajectory from here is deeply uncertain. Several possible scenarios stand before the nation:
Continued Repression and Relative Stability:
The regime’s security apparatus remains powerful. A heightened crackdown could suppress protests for a time, as occurred in several regions, yet leave underlying grievances unaddressed. Some analysts believe this will delay — but not prevent — another eruption of dissent.Fragmented Opposition and Stalemate:
Without unified leadership or a clear alternative vision, the movement risks fragmentation. This would allow the regime to exploit divisions while isolating protest momentum. This scenario mirrors many historical uprisings where dissatisfaction remains but fails to achieve systemic change.Transitional Movement Toward Broader Reform:
If grassroots leadership emerges organically and unites diverse factions — bridging generational and ideological divides — the protests could evolve from resistance to constructive transition. This scenario, however, requires profound shifts in organization, strategy, and international engagement.Revolutionary Transformation:
The most radical outcome — the complete dismantling of the Islamic Republic — would constitute a historical rupture. But this would necessitate not just mass protest, but a cohesive political framework and potential support from a broad coalition of Iranians at home and abroad.
Each path carries uncertainties. The absence of a clear successor structure, historical memory of failed movements, and brutal repression make revolution difficult. Yet repeated cycles of resistance demonstrate that the desire for change remains alive in the Iranian psyche.
VII. Iran’s Unfinished Revolution
At its core, the story of “death to dictatorship” in Iran is neither linear nor simplistic. It is a story marked by recurring cycles of hope, disillusionment, and resistance. The 1979 revolution was not an endpoint but a beginning — a turning point that reconfigured power but did not satisfy the deep demands for political freedom and economic justice. Today’s protests represent both continuity and departure: continuity in the spirit of resistance, but departure in the form, scale, and aspirations of a new generation that refuses to inherit the compromises of the past.
The parallels to 1979 are unmistakable. The bazaars, the slogans, and the widespread mobilization echo a nation unwilling to be governed without its consent. But if Iran is indeed “back where it started,” it also faces lessons that history has already taught: revolutions that lack a coherent alternative often circle back to familiar ground.
Whether this moment becomes another missed chapter or a genuine turning point — one that moves Iran beyond cycles of dictatorship and resistance — remains to be seen. What is clear is that the demand for dignity, freedom, and choice continues to animate a people determined to refuse quiet acceptance of a system that has left too many behind.