Source: PRI's The World

The heightened tensions between Israel, the United States, and Iran regarding Iran’s nuclear program, along with the devastating economics sanctions, are causing increased anxiety in the country. Speaking on PRI’s The World, Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour noted that when people suffer under economic sanctions, it tends to accentuate their pre-existing political views. In other words, “if you are a supporter of the government you place the onus for personal economic hardship on the U.S. and Western imposed sanctions and if you are an opponent of the government, then you blame it on the regime.” The trend lines in Iran point to a further entrenchment of the dictatorial regime, ruled by Supreme Leader Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard, Sadjadpour continued. Despite strong resentment among a large swath of the Iranian population, there seems to be little movement towards something resembling the Arab spring. The memory of the brutal repression following the contested 2009 elections demonstrated the regimes policy of refusing to bend, he added. Moreover, “In Iran, the term revolution does not have the romantic connotation that it does in the Arab world because much of the population is so disillusioned with the 1979 revolution,” concluded Sadjadpour.