Voices of Iran

Since September thousands of ordinary Iranian citizens have risked their lives -- and hundreds have lost their lives -- protesting the ayatollahs' rule after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old woman had been arrested by the clerical regimes' morality police for not wearing her hijab the way the clerics have prescribed. The street protests are said to be the biggest challenge for the regime since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but it remains unclear if the demonstrators can compel their government to embrace fundamental change. In this episode, historian John Ghazvinian explains why the Islamic Republic's power has endured despite widespread domestic discontent and international isolation.