You don’t pull the mask off the ol’ Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with tabs …
Democrats Fear Iranian Love Of Freedom Could Spread To America https://t.co/aOwQ63xh3n pic.twitter.com/yVO1eKug0r
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 12, 2026
Ed: Unfortunately, this is not entirely satire.
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Michael Doran: Why is this time different? Because the regime has lost the most basic attribute of a functioning state: control over its currency. When the gap between the official and market exchange rates reaches 35 to 1, the rial no longer adequately functions as money. Savings become meaningless, contracts lose credibility, and economic planning collapses.
The regime now presides over two separate economies. One operates in depreciating rials and sustains the formal bureaucracy. The other conducts real transactions through oil barter and hard currency, accessible only to a narrow circle of regime insiders. When the Iranian defense ministry must sell crude directly to foreign customers to finance operations—because the central budget can no longer transfer funds through normal channels—the state has lost its capacity to allocate resources. Public finance, in any meaningful sense, has ceased to function.
With foreign currency reserves frozen or inaccessible, the central bank can no longer defend the currency or manage liquidity. Monetary policy has become a series of levers attached to nothing. A government that cannot stabilize its money or credibly tax and redistribute revenue has lost one of the basic arms of the state—and it will not recover it.
Ed: This is an interesting analysis, and explains why the currency collapse became the true catalyst. It explains why the merchant class finally abandoned the mullahs, and why the regime simply cannot bribe them back into the coalition. However, Doran also offers some sobering cautions about the potential paths that collapse may take, and why the risks remain high for the regime’s enemies, domestic and otherwise.
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Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi vows that if he were to return to Iran to lead the country, he would not transition it to a future autocratic government, telling CBS News’ @NorahODonnell he’s “committed to a democratic alternative.”
“I’ve learned it, I prepared for it, I… pic.twitter.com/NURhkxGFKj
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 12, 2026
“I’ve learned it, I prepared for it, I trained for it. And that’s why I think that trust that you hear now in me is because they understand me, my goal, and what it is that I’m offering. And I’m responding to their call,” Pahlavi says.
Ed: Can the Pahlavis be trusted with that mission? Reza Pahlavi has certainly made himself important in this moment, and some of the opposition in Iran have demanded a return of the monarchy at least in the short term. However, the Iranian people have long memories about life under the Shah, and the uprising that deposed the Pahlavis was as popular as this uprising appears to be. It will take an alliance of all the opposition factions, and perhaps Pahlavi has a role to play, but it would be a mistake to make this a restoration of the hereditary monarchy.
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Matthew Petti at Reason: The country has been under a total communications blackout since January 8, but the information that has emerged from Iran indicates that there has been a massive, bloody crackdown. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a nonprofit in Virginia, has verified 483 civilian deaths and 47 deaths of police and military personnel. On Sunday, Iranian state television broadcast video from a morgue in Tehran overflowing with bodies; authorities claim that the situation is now under control and hosted a progovernment rally in Tehran on Monday.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran if the government kills protesters. He told reporters on Sunday that “it looks like” his line has been crossed, and that he “might meet” with Iranian negotiators, or that “we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting.” His cabinet is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss options, including war, to support the protesters.
Trump’s promise to intervene “encouraged [Iranian authorities] to act much more aggressively and brutally,” Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Professor Vali Nasr said during a panel hosted by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, where I used to work. “You just end the protests quickly and take this off the table, so if that’s the excuse for intervention, it’s not going to be there anymore,” he explained, quoting a hypothetical Iranian official.
Ed: That underestimates the strength of the popular revolt, and overestimates the strength of the regime in this moment. This will not end quickly enough to avoid an intervention, if one is coming. Even if the streets empty for an evening, Trump may well act so that the people can return to their uprising with more confidence.
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#BREAKING Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call with his UK counterpart @YvetteCooperMP warned that Iran would “evacuate” its personnel from London embassy if the UK “cannot uphold its duty to protect diplomatic missions.”
He also urged the UK to “avoid… pic.twitter.com/UGuSuWP8Xd— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 12, 2026
… “avoid interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.”
Ed: Technically, Araghchi has a legit gripe here. But his threat is a demonstration of weakness. His regime cannot afford to look that vulnerable in this moment, and the mullahs need all of the diplomatic contacts they can maintain at the moment.
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Andrew Stiles at Free Beacon: China was especially mad because American companies are poised to take over Venezuela’s oil supply. The Global Times, a regime-controlled newspaper, published a crummy AI video attempting to disparage the United States for having an awesome military that excels at taking oil from communists. The video, which features a gun-toting bald eagle jumping out of a helicopter and planting an American flag in an oil field, was terrible propaganda. The wailing Chinese soundtrack sounded like crap, and it made America look awesome.
Chinese people are supposed to be smart, but this video was very dumb. Other Chinese propaganda content was just as bad, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis. Maybe China isn’t very good at anything.
Ed: Click through to see the propaganda Andrew provides as examples. I know which one I’m supposed to like, but my actual favorite is the eagle with the, um, package.
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In Iran, protesters are risking death fighting for freedom from a brutal Islamic terrorist regime.
In Minneapolis, Radical Left lunatics and purple-haired schizos are melting down over law enforcement.
The head of the Democrat Party thinks they are the same. https://t.co/J1wPAwD0HG
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 11, 2026
Ed: Well … at least Democrats are committing to the bit.
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Fox Business: Mamdani’s administration had sought to slow the sale of the properties after tenants complained that the seller, Pinnacle Group, had poorly maintained the properties and were concerned that the prospective buyer, Summit Properties USA, would have similar issues.
Mamdani’s administration attempted to intervene on the basis of being a creditor to Pinnacle. The company owes the city over $12 million in unpaid fines, according to Gothamist.
Bankruptcy Judge David Jones rejected Mamdani’s effort, however, setting back the new mayor’s first foray into NYC’s housing market.
Ed: It’s a reminder that mayors have limited powers and authority. Mamdani can still do some damage by enforcement of city rules and regulation, but he doesn’t have plenary authority to impose Warm Happy Socialist Fuzzies.
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That’s interesting. I guess he declined the standing offer from Auschwitz University. https://t.co/qFB1kqrBmt
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) January 12, 2026
Ed: Ouch, baby, very ouch.
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Politico: Tom Steyer is running for California governor as an enemy of tax-avoiding plutocrats.
“Tax me more,” the billionaire environmentalist said recently on X. “I’ve been saying it for a long time.”
It’s a major part of Steyer’s effort to position himself as a populist. It’s also a reminder of a familiar Achilles’ heel: Steyer, who says he wants to pay more in taxes, still benefits from low-tax policies when it comes to his own business interests.
His investment firm, Galvanize Climate Solutions, has some $6.8 billion under management. About $1 million of that is in two Cayman Islands-based funds, according to a Dec. 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ed: Yes, Steyer is a bit of a hypocrite here, but the scale of this is pretty miniscule. This amounts to 0.0147% of this investment fund. One has to wonder who fed this to Politico, and why Politico felt inclined to run it. Hint: I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Steve Hilton’s campaign.
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Incredible clip that gets to the heart of Democrats’ anti-deportation zealotry:
CNBC’s Joe Kernen asks Sen Mark Warner why Democrats supported deportations under Obama, but not now.
Kernen: “What changed with Democrats? Biden let in 12 million. Is it about VOTES?”
Warner… pic.twitter.com/e9BakOIfJH
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 12, 2026
Ed: Wow. This is well worth the watch.
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Axios: President Trump is leaning towards striking Iran to punish the regime for killing protesters, but hasn’t made a final decision and is exploring Iranian proposals for negotiations, a White House official with direct knowledge told Axios.
Why it matters: While Trump threatened the Iranian regime with strikes if protesters were killed, it’s far from clear that U.S. bombs will turn the tide in Tehran. Trump is expected to discuss the different options in a meeting with his top national security team on Tuesday.
Ed: Trump announced a 25% tariff on any country doing business with Iran, but it seems doubtful that will be strong enough to deter the IRGC and the Basiji forces.
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🚨 JUST IN: Absolutely MASSIVE Iranian protest happening in the streets of Tehran against Khamenei tonight
Jaw-dropping amount of demonstrators.
THE PEOPLE MUST WIN! America stands with them! 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/b3eGMzu5GB
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 12, 2026
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