Radio Atlantic After Khamenei, What Now?
102 snips
Mar 2, 2026 
Anne Applebaum, a democracy and authoritarianism expert, and Arash Azizi, an Iranian political commentator, discuss Iranian reactions to Khamenei’s death. They explore Iranians’ mixed feelings of hope and fear. They assess realistic leadership alternatives, the tug between technocrats and hardliners, and how U.S. tactics have shaped Iran’s future.
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Iranian Public Feels Powerless After Massacres
- Many Iranians feel powerless despite hopes the U.S. or Israel would remove the regime.
- After mass protests and a deadly January massacre, citizens watched foreign strikes and realized real political change wouldn't arrive overnight.
No Clear Opposition For Security Forces To Hand Over To
- There is no coherent body inside Iran for security forces to surrender to.
- Decades of repression destroyed nationwide opposition organizing, so the IRGC cannot realistically hand weapons to a single recognized alternative.
Iranian Opposition Is Organizationally Unprepared
- Iranian democratic opposition lacks underground organization to seize power.
- Arash Azizi estimates opposition readiness extremely low (under 5/100) and notes Reza Pahlavi has supporters but no boots-on-the-ground network.