quoting Abbas Milani via Bloomberg
Trump could help the democracy movement while hurting the regime. Opposing the Iranian regime doesn't have to mean sanctioning its banks and oil.
Just ask Abbas Milani. The director of Stanford University’s Iran studies program cannot be called a squish when it comes to Iran; he has devoted much of his scholarship to the regime’s struggle against modernity and to understanding the country’s democracy movement.
(The Hill) Meet Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, 92, who heads two powerful committees responsible for appointing Iran’s supreme leader, vetting candidates for key elected offices, and screening legislation passed by Iran’s parliament — all to ensure fidelity to the regime’s theocratic constitution and Islamist creed.