Time Stamps:
The Canadian Cigarette Lady (0:00)
A Brief History of Iran (2:27)
Russia the Mediator (6:42)
Those Pesky NIMBY Nations (9:55)
"Everybody Loves My King Tank" by Cranky Pete (14:42)
The Canadian Cigarette Lady
It's a desperate situation that would drive Senator Ted Cruz to embrace the now-iconic picture of a radical feminist, lighting a cigarette while burning a picture of the Ayatollah.
It has been a powerful symbol of freedom that has gone viral.
But this was not in Iran, but Canada. It was not during the mass protest, but from the year 2022. Her internet was safely operational from the Western hemisphere and her YouTube channel.
In other words, it's blatant war propaganda.
But as usual, facts are no match for the human spirit. Misguided as it may be.
A Brief History of Iran
Modern Iranian history is an intense saga of rapid modernization, foreign intervention, and above all, a dramatic shift from one of the world's oldest monarchies to a theocratic republic.
At the turn of the 20th century, Iran (then known as Persia) was ruled by the Qajar Dynasty. The country was caught in the "Great Game" between the British and Russian Empires, both of whom vied for influence over its territory and resources.
The British-backed discovery of oil fundamentally changed Iran’s strategic value, leading to the creation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP).
In 1941, during WWII, the British and Soviets invaded Iran to secure oil routes and deposed Reza Shah in favor of his son, whose reign faced a defining struggle between the monarchy and nationalist forces.
When Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized the oil industry, Operation Ajax - a CIA-and-MI6-backed coup - overthrew him, restoring the Shah’s absolute power. This event remains a cornerstone of Iranian distrust toward the West.
The White Revolution, beginning in 1963, brought about rapid reforms including land redistribution and women's suffrage. While it modernized the economy, it alienated the clergy (notably Ayatollah Khomeini) and failed to address a growing wealth gap.
By the late 1970s, a "perfect storm" of economic inflation, political repression by the secret police (SAVAK), and perceived Western "cultural poisoning" (Gharbzadegi) united secular leftists and religious conservatives against the Shah. By January 1979, the Shah was removed from power, and Iran was declared an Islamic Republic. The new system established the Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist), giving the Supreme Leader ultimate authority over the government.
The Hostage Crisis (1979–1981): Revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans for 444 days. This permanently severed ties with the United States.
The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988): Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, leading to an eight-year war of attrition. It cost nearly a million lives but served to solidify the new revolutionary government's domestic power.
Central themes of the 21st century include:
Since the 1990s, Iran has oscillated between "Reformist" presidents (like Khatami and Rouhani) who sought engagement with the West, and "Hardliners" (like Ahmadinejad and Raisi).
The Nuclear Program: Leading to years of international sanctions and the 2015 JCPOA (Nuclear Deal).
Civil Unrest: Major protests in 2009 (Green Movement), 2019, and the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement have highlighted deep social rifts regarding personal freedoms and the economy.
Russia the Mediator
On January 14, the Washington Post reported that, amid heightened regional tensions, Israel and Iran exchanged secret, indirect messages through a Russian intermediary in late December 2025. The core purpose was to provide mutual reassurances against launching preemptive military strikes, aiming to prevent unintended escalation into direct conflict.
The Washington Post reported:
It’s not clear now how the furious protests in Iran in recent weeks, which have challenged the government’s grip on power, have changed Israel’s and Iran’s calculations and whether the two countries will still abide by their private agreement. President Donald Trump has been weighing attacks against Iranian regime targets in response to the crackdown on the protest movement, and any strikes could provoke Iran to retaliate against Israel, a U.S. ally, analysts say.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that if attacked, Iran would retaliate against U.S. military bases in the Middle East, the news agency reported Wednesday, without mentioning Israel as among the potential targets.
Both Iran and Israel agreed to refrain from launching preemptive attacks against one other. These communications occurred days before widespread protests erupted in Iran in late December 2025.
While Iran's domestic unrest (with mass protests and crackdowns) prompted U.S. threats under the Trump administration to intervene militarily, Russia's ongoing positioning as a mediator in Middle Eastern affairs had served as a backchannel, operating independently of Washington.
Further in the article:
The Kremlin previously raised to Trump the idea of serving as an intermediary between Israel and Iran, according to a Russian academic close to senior Russian diplomats. Trump declined the offer, this person said, telling the Russians “to deal with Ukraine first.” It’s not clear whether the December exchanges took place with Washington’s knowledge or participation.
Donald Trump, who once represented “the art of the deal” to the horror of the War Party, essentially forfeited that position to Russia - our supposed arch-enemy - while threatening regime change.
Those Pesky NIMBY Nations
The New York Times reports that President Donald Trump's key Gulf Arab allies — despite their longstanding rivalries with Iran — are actively lobbying against any U.S. military strike on Iran. Protests and riots that began in late December 2025 that began over economic issues escalated into a violent crackdown and Western calls for regime change.
From the article:
Even Gulf governments that have engaged in indirect conflict with Iran — such as Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia — do not support American military action there, according to analysts who study the region.
That is partly because the monarchies of the Gulf worry that the ripple effects of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, or possible state failure in Iran, would harm their own security, undermining their reputation as regional safe havens for business and tourism.
Prior to the article, President Donald Trump urged protesters on Truth Social to keep protesting, promising that help was on the way. By the time of publication (January 14th), Trump had been informed (via "very important sources") that the killings had stopped.
As cooler heads began to prevail, the hotter ones unloaded in tweet-storms.
Mark Levin went on to call Qatar a “pretend country.”
But perhaps no greater fit stood out than the Fox News clip circulating on X with a deep-sighing Senator Lindsey Graham, near tears, bemoaning “a lot of headlines out there” that were supposedly questioning Donald Trump's resolve.
Previous footage of the Senator on Air Force One showed Graham in child-like glee as Donald Trump took action against Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.
This bizarre attitude by the war hawks leads one to believe they were upset that the killings had grinded to a halt before a military strike could be executed. Thus, a golden opportunity to wage a regime change war had passed by.
If that's the case, the questionably high figure of up to 20,000 deaths is not a statistic, but a “good crisis” that went to waste.
See Also:
External Resources:
Meet ‘Morticia Addams’, the woman who first set Khamenei’s photo on fire and started a movement by FP Explainers
With tensions high, Israel and Iran secretly reassured each other via Russia by Gerry Shih, Karen DeYoung, Suzan Haidamous, Catherine Belton and Ari Flanzraich
Trump’s Gulf Allies Do Not Want Him to Bomb Iran by Vivian Nereim
Man who drove U-Haul truck into anti-Iranian regime protest in Westwood speaks out by Alex Rozier
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