BBC NEWS | Middle East | How strong is Iran's opposition?: "'Regime change'
Some of the right-wing Republicans in Washington, known as the neo-conservatives, think the recent student unrest is a sign that the regime is close to collapse.
John Calabrese of the Middle East Institute, a Washington research centre, takes a different view.
'I think the street demonstrations and protests that have been occurring over the last month or two provide yet additional evidence that there is a deep resentment, a deep alienation - a gulf really - between the regime and the population,' he says.
'Having said that, it's also clear from the protests and demonstrations that the regime is resilient, resourceful, and prepared to use repression in order to make sure that the protests are kept more or less under control.'
Mr Calabrese believes the weakness of the student demonstrators is their lack of leadership and organisation. He believes the prospects for 'regime change' from within are low.
So the two main camps in Washington, the neo-cons and their critics, sometimes known as the realists, disagree over whether 'regime change' should be the goal of US foreign policy."
Some of the right-wing Republicans in Washington, known as the neo-conservatives, think the recent student unrest is a sign that the regime is close to collapse.
John Calabrese of the Middle East Institute, a Washington research centre, takes a different view.
'I think the street demonstrations and protests that have been occurring over the last month or two provide yet additional evidence that there is a deep resentment, a deep alienation - a gulf really - between the regime and the population,' he says.
'Having said that, it's also clear from the protests and demonstrations that the regime is resilient, resourceful, and prepared to use repression in order to make sure that the protests are kept more or less under control.'
Mr Calabrese believes the weakness of the student demonstrators is their lack of leadership and organisation. He believes the prospects for 'regime change' from within are low.
So the two main camps in Washington, the neo-cons and their critics, sometimes known as the realists, disagree over whether 'regime change' should be the goal of US foreign policy."
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