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About the New Iranian Protests
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Remember the predictions from experts that a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites would cause Iranians to rally behind their regime? You can junk that. The Iranian people are marching in protest only months after the Israel-U.S. attack. The regime has typically responded to protests with beatings, arrests, torture and shootings. But this time its initial response was more cautious, as if it realized the danger of a broad anti-government uprising. Iran says it arrested 21,000 "suspects" during the June war, and human-rights groups have documented a surge of executions since then, most carried out in secret. This repression makes the continuing protests all the more remarkable. The Iranians risking their lives deserve meaningful support. This can mean restoring internet access when the regime cuts it off, unmasking regime thugs, and much more. Most important is to keep the economic pressure on the regime. Iran has been able to evade sanctions enough that its oil exports are at new highs - two million barrels a day, 20 times the U.S. target. This mocks Mr. Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign. The Ayatollah depends on oil revenue to keep his commanders loyal and troops' rifles aimed at their own people. If the money stops flowing, the loyalties of the regime enforcers may change.