If the women of Iran and men can keep up the demonstrations, then I think the regime is going to have to

crack down most severely, and that's going to test it like it's never tested it before.

It's going to be a worse challenge than 2009 was and the Supreme

Leader said 2009 took the Theocracy to the point of women and cities across Iran burning their headscarves and cutting their hair in public to

chance of quote women life freedom and quote death to the dictator a reference to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The protests began after the September 13th death of 22-year-old Masa Ammani.

According to reports, Iranian morality police had accused

Ammani of violating laws mandating women cover their hair.

Ammani's family have alleged that she was beaten to death by these morality police officers.

These events appear to have sparked serious protests across the country in a public backlash

against the Iranian regime. But how serious of a threat to the regime is it?

Well, I wanted to check in with one of the most astute observers of Iranian political

and social trends. Royuel Mark Gerecht.

Ruelle is a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank, the foundation for the defense of democracies.

He was previously a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and earlier he served as a

Middle Eastern specialist at the CIA's Directorate of Operations in that role he was focused

on Iran targets. Among his many books, Royell was the

author of Know Thine Enemy, a spy's journey into Revolutionary Iran, and the

Islamic paradox, Shiite clerics, Sunni fundamentalists, and the coming of Arab democracy.

He's been a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, as well as a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the

dispatch. This is call me back. And I am pleased to welcome to the

podcast, my long-time friend known Ruel for about two

...