[churchill]

First, I'll have to say that I noticed 15/19 of the submissions you've made to Hacker News have been on the topics of either the Gaza War or the recent protests in Iran. It's weird, just saying.

Secondly, having thousands of protesters chanting your name still doesn't confer state power. State power is in the ability to achieve and retain a monopoly of violence. Khamenei's forces can (and are doing so already) mow down the protesters with machine gunfire, just like the Egyptian Army mowed down the supporters of Morsi in Cairo.

If you can't achieve a monopoly of violence, an asymmetry works just as well since you can impose your wishes on the opposition with superior firepower. That is what will, and is happening in Iran right now.