“It is absolutely clear that there will be a bang someday”: military coup in Iran possible Despite strict measures: number of corona cases in China reaches annual peak

According to Islamic scholar Katajun Amirpur, there is also a real risk of a military coup in Iran. “The Pasdaran, the Revolutionary Guard, could put an end to this theocracy,” said the professor of Islamic studies at the University of Cologne. “But of course they are not willing to build a democracy. That would be a military dictatorship. Iran has been on this path for a number of years anyway.”

Systematic protests have been going on in Iran for more than two months. According to Amirpur, the influential Revolutionary Guards, who are loyal to the system, may sense their opportunity to use the discontent against the clerical elite. The influence of the elite unit has been growing for years, including in the Iranian economy.

Even if the influence of the Revolutionary Guards increased, Amirpur does not believe in an end to the freedom movement. The knowledge in the country about what the rule of law and democracy means is too great.

“This desire for freedom and especially the knowledge of what a better Iran could look like is there.” It was very inconsistent for the state to make women second-class citizens and at the same time train them to be professors, doctors and lawyers and send them to college. “It’s perfectly clear that there’s going to be a bang at some point.”

The systemic protests were provoked by the death of the young Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini. She died in police custody in mid-September after being arrested by decency officers for violating Islamic dress codes. The ensuing protests plunged Iran’s political leadership into one of its worst crises in decades. (sda/dpa)